


Not-Uncle Tony

by Jen27ny



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Happy is Peter's father, Irondad, Kid Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:53:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23952607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jen27ny/pseuds/Jen27ny
Summary: “I just… got some news.”“Bad news?”For a second, he thinks Happy is about to say yes. Instead, he turns around to him, eyes full of a nervousness Tony didn’t know the man is capable of. “I’m going to be a father.”~~~~~This is the story of Peter Hogan.Yes, that's right. Happy is Peter's biological father, and Tony is there for the entire ride.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Happy Hogan & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker (background), Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (background), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 131
Kudos: 631
Collections: Peter Parker's Tales, impravidus's favorite fics





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, you might have some questions.   
> Let me explain: I got a comment on my BioDad!Tony fic about them thinking that Happy is Peter's father (because Happy is the first one who talks to Tony about it) and I immediately went: HAHA that's so funny!.... wait.   
> And then I had to write it. And I actually like it?? Because Happy is a Tired Dad and Tony is such a Chaotic Uncle, it just screams trouble. 
> 
> This is not beta-read, so the usual warnings about spelling, grammar, typos, and the position of commas is in place. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“Alright, let’s blow this popsicle stand,” Tony says as he slips into the car and slams the door shut, _so_ ready to finally get back home and tinker in his workshop, maybe even call Miss April if he feels like it. Just anything to get as far away from boring board meetings as possible.

But the car isn’t moving.

“Hey, Happy,” Tony calls out for his bodyguard and driver who is already sitting in the driver’s seat.

No reaction from him.

Tony kicks the seat. Twice.

Still no reaction.

“Hogan!”

That does the trick. Happy jumps a little and blinks, his eyes snapping to the rearview mirror and meeting Tony’s. “What?” Tony only raises a questioning eyebrow. “Sorry, boss. Back to the mansion?”

“Hold up for one hot second,” Tony says, leaning forward to get a better look at Happy. Is it just his imagination or is the ex-boxer actually a little bit green around his nose? “Can you drive?”

Tony gets one of Happy’s usual unhappy looks. “I’ve been driving you around for years.”

“I mean are you in any condition to drive? ‘Cause you driving me around safely is kinda the point of a bodyguard who doubles as a driver.” Happy takes a deep breath, hands tightly gripping the steering wheel. Slowly, Tony actually gets concerned. “For real. What’s going on? Are you okay?”

A part of Tony fully expects Happy to deflect and start driving, after all he’s not the kind of person who really talks about his private life, so Tony is quite surprised when he actually answers him. “I just… got some news.”

“Bad news?”

For a second, he thinks Happy is about to say yes. Instead, he turns around to him, eyes full of a nervousness Tony didn’t know the man is capable of. “I’m going to be a father.”

There’s this urge in Tony to lean back, to bring as much space between himself and that statement as possible, so he slums back onto the backseat, seeing that he can’t get any further away unless he actually exits the car. His eyes fly to Happy’s bare hands that are still trying to crush the steering wheel. “You’re not married. And you don’t have a girlfriend.”

“No, I don’t,” Happy presses through his teeth.

Tony can only blink a couple of times. Despite his own frequent sexual adventures, he never had any desire to be even the slightest bit included or informed about his employees sex lives – maybe the only exception a certain new red-headed assistant in stiletto high heels and pencil skirts that counters all of his flirting by simply giving him more boring stuff to sign.

“Damn, Hogan,” Tony eventually snorts, desperately trying to break the suffocating tension in the car with a joke, “when did that happen?”

“That convention in Philly two months ago,” Happy grumbles. Tony tries to remember the convention, but it’s all very fussy. “You basically gave your speech half-drunk and took two waitresses to your room before told me to take the rest of the day off.” _That_ Tony remembers.

“So, uh,” Tony almost stutters – Tony Stark! Stuttering! What an unusual concept – suddenly very aware of the fact that he is still Happy’s employer, even though the billionaire thinks of him as one of his closest friends, “did… did you find a waitress, too?”

“Her name’s Mary Fitzpatrick. And, no, she wasn’t a waitress. She’s bioengineer who specialized in… I forgot what exactly, but it was something to do with chemistry.”

Tony huffs out a surprised puff of air. Happy is not as smart as Tony – very, _very_ few people are – and he’s not really interested in any details of any kind of technology except for cars, which doesn’t mean Tony would ever call him dumb or stupid, knowing that the man has a different kind of intelligence that got Tony out of trouble a couple of times. But someone like Mary? It seems like an odd match.

More silence fills the car. A thousand questions are racing through Tony’s mind. Is he going to propose to Mary? Where does she even live? Or work? Stark Industries doesn’t really have any bioengineers, but Tony could come up with a product that would make one necessary. Is Happy going to quit? Does he even want to be a father? Maybe there’s already some other man in Mary’s life? 

Tony just prays that he will never have to face questions like this.

“What are you gonna do?” he breaks the silence after a few seconds.

Happy doesn’t answer immediately. His knuckles around the steering wheel are turning white. “I don’t know,” he answers, almost inaudible. Then, he starts the car.

* * *

Something wet touches Tony’s face. No, not really touching. More like repeatedly hitting his face, though with very little strength behind it.

Tony frowns. The headache of his hangover is already there, throbbing behind his eyes, almost making him lose his… whatever he ate last. He can’t quite remember.

The wetness pressing against his face is still there.

Cursing himself for drinking himself into oblivion – again – Tony blinks his eyes open.

He’s looking at a baby. Or maybe a toddler? A young human being. A very young human being.

The kid stares back, brown eyes almost too big for his head, a small fluff of brown curls sitting on top of it. Slowly, the kid takes their fingers that have laid against Tony’s cheek and puts them in their mouth. Tony puts two and two together, and knows where the wetness from earlier came from. 

Then, Tony notices several other things. First of all, he’s not lying in his very spacious, very comfortable bed, but on a couch that’s too short for him and is the cause of the pulling pain in his neck. In fact, he’s not in his home at all, but in a room that’s about the size of Tony’s closet.

He tries to remember where exactly he is and how he got here and who the fuck that young human in front of him is, but he can’t remember a single thing, no doubt thanks to the impressive amount of alcohol he drank. Well, he probably drank. God, he should _really_ work on this remembering thing. One day, it’s gonna make him a lot of trouble.

The small human next to him begins to wobble, and Tony immediately reaches out to steady him. The kid looks from Tony to his hand around their waist, blinks once, and looks back at Tony. A wide, toothless smile spreads across the kid’s face. Tony smirks back.

“Tony.”

Oh, he knows that growl.

Tony looks up to find his very unhappy bodyguard looking at him, stalking over to them. To Tony’s surprise, the small human turns around upon hearing the voice, laughing brightly and extending a grabby arm towards the man. To Tony’s even bigger surprise, Happy picks up the child like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

A light bulb goes off in Tony’s head.

“That’s your kid,” Tony says, sitting up under a lot of protest from his stomach. “That’s, uh,…”

“Peter,” Happy growls again, as the boy – Peter – happily lays his head against his father’s chest, fingers still in his mouth, and watching Tony with his big eyes.

“Yeah, Peter, right. I knew that. He’s about one now, right?”

Happy only nods, and Tony’s eyes drift back to the toddler. Mary and Happy didn’t marry. She’s also working in New York for OsCorp – out of all Tony’s competition, it had to be _OsCorp_. Despite Obie’s protests, Tony let Happy travel to New York on his private plane several times to accompany Mary to all of her doctor’s appointments. He gave Happy two months off a week before the due date, so he could be there to welcome his son in the world, get familiar with him, and support Mary.

(It also meant that Tony had to get another driver/bodyguard for whenever Happy was spending time with Peter and Mary. His name is Raymond and even though he’s just as silent and competent as Happy, Tony can’t help but fail to really connect with him.)

Since then, Happy regularly flies back and forth between New York and Malibu to visit Mary and Peter as often as possible. As far as Tony is aware, Mary and Peter have been to Malibu twice, both times staying for about three weeks before returning back home. But this… There’s something special about this visit. Tony remembers Happy talking to him about it, he remembers Pepper reminding him about not disturbing Happy for any emergencies (Tony doesn’t know why she always says it like she’s putting air quotes around it, getting cheese burgers at 4:30 in the morning _is_ an emergency) because…

“I ask you for this one thing,” Happy continues to growl, trying to keep his temper in check, probably more for Peter’s benefit than Tony’s. “After all these years that I put up with your crazy shi- … with your crazy stuff-“

“Does it actually matter if you swear around him? Like, he doesn’t really look like he would understand it.”

“-and I never say anything. Never! But the one time I ask you not to ignore my privacy because it’s the first time Peter is staying with me without Mary and-“ Happy stops and blinks once. “Tony, did you already swear around Peter?”

“What? No, I didn’t! It was a purely hypothetical question.” Happy’s gaze hardens. “I didn’t! I promise!”

A knock on the door saves Tony from more of Happy’s anger. Only a second later, the door opens and a very familiar clicking sound pierces through his hangover-plagued head. “Pepper?” Tony asks just as his assistance enters the living room, taking in the scene, and pocketing a key. An absolutely crazy thought – but one that still manages to prick his heart – enters Tony’s mind. “Why do you have a key to Happy’s place? Is there something I should know? Y’know, as your boss, I should be aware if there’s any workplace romance going on.”

Neither Happy nor Pepper deem that question worth answering. “Happy gave me a key for emergencies, seeing that I’m Peter’s godmother.”

“Wait, you’re his what?” Peter happily falls into Pepper’s arms who presses two quick kisses against his head.

Happy snorts. “Why are you surprised? Pepper has been looking after you for about three years now, and hasn’t quit yet. If there’s anyone I trust to look after my child, it’s her.”

“I told you to leave Happy alone,” Pepper reprimands her boss.

“Well, I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“That’s even worse!”

“Can you two not argue when Peter’s around? Please?” Happy sighs, rubbing a hand over Peter’s head. “I don’t want him to associate you two with arguing. Even though it’s literally what you do all the time.”

“We’re not always argue with each other,” Tony says, and for the first time in basically forever, Pepper seems to agree with him. Happy snorts again. “Anyways, we should not focus on that. Instead, we should focus on me finally meeting that little guy.” To prove his point, Tony stretches out a hand towards Peter, who reaches out and takes his hand. Of course, Peter uses the hand that had previously been stuck in his mouth.

Tony smiles – until he feels that his last meal really is gonna make a reappearance.

* * *

_“Sir, Mr. Hogan is calling you.”_

“Patch him through, JARVIS,” Tony orders, taking the screwdriver out of his mouth, but keeping his eyes on the disassembled car engine before him. There’s a soft chime. “What’s up, Happy? Do you need my awesome babysitter skills?”

“Funny,” Happy deadpans. There’s some unintelligible babbling in the background that Tony recognizes as Peter’s.

Ever since he first met the little kid, he makes more of an effort to be around him. Tony doesn’t really know why and he also doesn’t want to think about it, but he likes that little bundle of joy. So, he asks Happy for pictures of Peter, tells him to bring him along when he stops by the mansion, and personally went into a toy store and bought him a teddy bear. Tony also signed up for a conference in New York a couple of weeks ago, knowing that Happy would be excited to see his son, and Tony could finally meet Mary, and her close friend’s May and Ben, who are Peter’s other godparents.

“Peter has something to tell you.”

“Oh?” Peter’s senseless babbling starts to turn into semi-recognizable words, having everyone on the edge of their seats with what he’s going to say next. “Let me talk to him, then.”

Peter’s babbling gets louder, making Tony smile absentmindedly. But now that the babbling is louder, Tony can actually find some logic it, not just jumbled noises, but actually something that sounds like a word. Like…

Tony looks up from the engine. “Is he- Is he saying _Tony_?!”

Happy snorts. “Listen again.”

Tony’s heart is thundering in his chest, so loud he almost doesn’t hear Peter’s babbling. But now he realizes that there’s actually something that doesn’t really add up, something that’s a little bit off…

Tony blinks. Then he blinks again. “He’s saying _Dum-E_?!” Happy’s laughs booms through the workshop, almost drowning Peter’s giggle and the robot’s excited chirping. “I can’t believe it. Dum-E? Really?”

“He loves that robot.” As if to support Happy’s words, Dum-E moves his claw around, open and closing it in a rhythm that spells out Peter in Morse code.

“Peter, _buddy_ , I can’t believe it! I thought I’m your favorite uncle. Oh, the betrayal!”

“You’re not his uncle, Tony.”

“Favorite not-uncle, then.”

“There’s no such thing.”

“Well, there is now. I just invented it.”

* * *

Tony watches Peter who is sitting at the table, legs swinging back and front, slowly getting used to his new glasses, and busy with the workbook Tony put in front of him. It’s simple math, just addition and subtraction with numbers up to 100 – but Peter is only three. Now, Tony is not an expert on normal child development, but he’s pretty sure that other three-year olds can’t do that. Or already reading a bedtime story by themselves. “Did you ever talk to Mary about getting him tested?”

“Yeah,” Happy sighs into his mug of steaming coffee.

“And?”

“We want him to grow up normally, not like-“

“Like me?” Happy doesn’t meet his eyes, but Tony only shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it, Hap. I wouldn’t want any kid to grow up like I did.” Not that Peter would ever get close the experience Tony had as child. For starters, Peter has a father who loves him to bits and pieces. “But I think it wouldn’t actually be a bad idea to get him tested. Just so you know where he stands. Plus, you need to find something that’ll challenge him. He’s gonna grow bored in school fast.”

Happy sighs. “I’m already dreading the day I can’t answer his questions anymore. Or _understand_ his questions, for that matter.”

“Don’t worry. If he’s interested in science and technology and all that stuff, I can teach him.”

Tony’s friend shoots him a small, grateful smile, but it quickly turns into a scowl. “Don’t you _dare_ teach him about cars! That’s gonna be my job!” Tony only laughs.

* * *

“- no peanuts, no sea food, no carrots, no hazelnuts, no celery-“

“Do I look like someone who _ever_ had celery in his house?”

Happy just continues. “He’s only allowed to have dessert when he eats all of his dinner, he can watch half an hour of TV before bed, and make sure he actually does brush his teeth.”

“Geez, that sounds like fun,” Tony comments with a roll of his eyes.

“And now your rules-“

“My rules? I’m an adult, I don’t need rules!”

Happy’s eyes turn to steel, shutting Tony up very efficiently. “No people coming over here for-“ His eyes jump to Peter who is busy emptying the contents of his little backpack onto Tony’s living room floor, “- some night activities. No hiding in your workshop and forgetting that anything else exists. And absolutely no drinking. At all.”

“Happy, relax, I-“

“Tony, I swear if I find out you were getting drunk instead of looking after my kid, you _will_ regret it.”

“I won’t do that, I promise.”

His friend lets go of a breath, but doesn’t look even a little bit relaxed. Happy is supposed to be off duty, seeing that Peter is currently here in Malibu, but Obie needs someone to drive him around all day and night. Apparently, no other reliable driver is available, and Obie insisted on Happy, no matter how much Tony tried to convince him to ask someone else. Normally, Pepper would look after Peter in situations like this, but she’s got the flu and – hopefully – rests in her bed after Tony almost drove her to her apartment himself after seeing the state she was in.

So, Tony offered to look after Peter until the next morning. It’s the first time Tony’s going to be alone for him for such a long time, and that Peter will spend the night here. Everyone – except maybe Peter – is a little nervous about it.

Happy sighs again, forcing himself to relax. “JARVIS, could you-“

_“Do not worry, Mr. Hogan. I am very aware of all of Peter’s allergies and conditions as well as the location of his inhalers, and I will be watching all the time.”_

“Thanks.”

“Hey, I get the feeling that you don’t trust me.”

“If I wouldn’t trust you, I wouldn’t let my kid stay with you.” Before Tony can react to it, Happy calls over his son, crouching down to his level when Peter comes closer. “Alright, Petey, it’s time for me to go. But remember, if you need to talk to me, just tell JARVIS to call me. Okay?”

Peter nods. “Okay, Daddy.” They perform a handshake that’s quite complicated for a four-year old, but always has the kid giggling. Then, Happy hugs him close and presses a kiss on his hair. “I love you, Daddy.”

“Love you, too, squirt.”

When Happy stands, Tony opens his arms and asks: “Is it my turn for hugs and kisses now?”

Happy doesn’t even bother rolling his eyes. “Behave.”

“Are you talking to me or the kid?”

“The one who needs to hear it.”

Peter and Tony keep waving goodbye until Happy’s car disappeared behind the horizon. “Alright, JAR, put on some tunes,” Tony says as soon as he closes the door, “let’s get this party started!” Peter laughs brightly and follows Tony in the living room for their impromptu dance party with juice box and snack breaks.

* * *

Tony glances up from the circuit board that Peter is working on when Pepper presses a quick kiss to the boy’s forehead before strolling away, checking if Tony really signed all the papers he claimed he has signed.

“Do you like Pepper?”

At once, Tony’s eyes snap back to the boy who, instead of working on the technology in front of him, is watching Tony. The billionaire clears his throat, trying to get rid of the sudden heat gathering in his cheeks, and smirks. “Of course. Why else would I keep her around all the time?”

“Because it’s her job,” Peter giggles. “But do you like like her?”

Tony doesn’t even notice the smile that slides on his face, and raises one eyebrow. “Like like her?”

“Yeah. Like you want to kiss and marry her.”

How does a five-year old manage to make the Tony Stark speechless? A lot of people would kill to have that skill. Peter continues to stare at his not-uncle, completely oblivious to the turmoil of emotions he caused. Tony desperately tries to ban the pictures that pop up in front of his eyes out of his mind, to ignore the thoughts that have been crossing his mind more often than he likes to admit.

Instead, he only sniffs and says: “Pepper works for me, kid.”

Peter draws his eyebrows together. “Can you not marry her when she works for you?” Tony shakes his head. “Oh.” And that’s the end of the discussion.

For Peter, at least. Tony on the other hand…

“You think she would marry me?” Peter looks up from the circuit board to Tony, looking confused for a second, like he already forgot what they were talking about less than a minute ago. “Pepper. You think she would marry me if I would ask her?”

“Maybe,” Peter hums, more focused on the task before him than their conversation. “You have to ask her to find out.”

“Thanks for the advice, kid,” Tony snorts, shoving away the slight panic that has been building up in his chest, and stops Peter from accidently electrocuting himself.

* * *

Tony is very busy undressing his latest conquest when his phone starts ringing. He ignores it, his attention currently somewhere else.

His phone keeps ringing.

“Seriously?” the woman – Tony thinks it’s Kim or Kathy or Kathrine – asks. “Can’t you turn it off?”

“Fantastic idea,” Tony mumbles against her lips before turning around to grab his phone out of the pocket of his jacket.

When he sees the caller ID, his heart misses a beat. Instead of turning it off, he answers the call, knowing it must be something serious. “Potts, what-“

“Tony,” Pepper breathes, redirecting every thought in his brain to this phone call. The blood in Tony’s veins turns to ice. He can count the occasions Pepper called him by his first name on one hand. And those conversations never ended pleasantly. Then there’s her voice, sounding so frail and almost… broken.

“Pepper?”

“You need to come over here.”

Tony grabs his jacket, one arm already in a sleeve and starts readjusting his tie, ignoring the protests from Kim-Kathy-Kathrine behind him. “Come where? What happened?”

“To Happy’s place.” It feels like someone dumps an entire truckload of freezing water over Tony, sobering him up at once. _No. No, please, no. Please-_ “Mary’s plane crashed. There are no survivors.”

Every little bit of air rushes out of Tony’s lungs, and he forgets how to get air back inside his lungs. Peter has been staying with Happy for two weeks now, and Mary was supposed to come for a little family vacation before taking him back to New York with her. It was supposed to be a surprise. They were supposed to visit all the theme parks, go to all the tourist traps, creating memories for Peter with his mom and dad together.

It’s not fair.

“Tony?” Pepper asks again. There’s a stifled sob. “Can you come over here? I-I know it’s late and you’re probably busy, but -“

“I’m on my way,” Tony promises, snapping back to reality. “I’ll get a cab and I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He doesn’t hear Pepper’s respond before hanging up, looking around the room once to make sure he has everything before turning to his companion. “Sorry, have to go. Family emergency.”

“What?” Tony doesn’t clarify, his mind already too occupied with more important things as he flees the apartment, stopping the first cab that drives by.

In Tony’s opinion, it takes way too long for him to get to Happy’s place. The second the car stops, he jumps out of it, throwing some money (not caring if it’s ten times what he needs to pay) at the driver and sprinting towards the door. Before he can even raise his fist to knock, Pepper opens the door. Her eyes are red and shiny, her cheeks a little blotchy, her usual impeccable make up smudged.

He grabs her shoulders when he enters, not quite sure if a hug right now is appropriated or not. “What do you need me to do?” he asks instead.

Pepper takes a deep breath, gaining some control back over the situation by doing what she’s used to. “Happy is talking with May and Ben, I try to get a hold of a lawyer for all the legal issues-“

“Call my lawyer,” Tony insists. “Tell him it’s an emergency and that I want him to do this properly and smoothly. I don’t care what it’ll cost, I’ll pay for it. I’ll pay for everything, okay? _Everything_.” Pepper only nods, wiping a hand over her cheek, and trying to compose herself. Mary and Pepper grew very close over the past few years. “I’ll check on Peter.”

“He should be asleep.”

Peter is not asleep. Tony notices it immediately even though the boy’s back is turned towards the door, curled up into a small ball. Peter _always_ sleeps on his back, sprawled out like a starfish, commanding as much space as he can. As he walks over to the bed, Tony suddenly realizes how small Peter is, smaller than most of his peers. Carefully, he sits down on the edge of the bed, lying a hand on Peter’s back.

The boy is shaking.

Tony wonders if someone told him or if he overheard it. He doesn’t know which scenario is worse.

“Peter?”

Slowly, Peter turns around. His eyes are blood-shot, tears silently streaming down his face. Tony’s heart breaks at the sight, and he gathers the boy in his arms before thinking twice about it. Peter sobs into his shoulder, staining Tony’s very expensive jacket with snot, which Tony couldn’t care less about. Not when Peter can barely breathe because he’s crying so much. “I-I-I-I want Mommy,” he wails, over and over again.

Tony only holds him closer, wondering why the world is so cruel to innocent children.

* * *

When Tony steps out of the plane with Rhodey supporting him, the light is blinding. His entire body aches, especially his chest with the miniature arc reactor. However, none of his injuries are as bad as having his eyes opened to what happened right under his nose.

His eyes find Pepper immediately, and he watches her trying to suppress as smile as he comes closer. He sniffs once. “Your eyes are red. Tears for your long lost boss?”

“Tears of joy,” she says, smile slowly showing on her face. “I hate job hunting.”

For a second, Tony only stares at her before reality catches up with him. “Yeah, vacation’s over.”

He walks past her to the black car waiting, Happy next to it and next to him…

“Hey kiddo.” Tony smiles as he sees Peter, who frees himself out of his father’s grip and runs over to him, throwing himself against the man and holding on to him like he’s afraid Tony might disappear again if he just loosens his hold a little bit. Tony does his best to swallow down the groan that’s building up in his throat, and lays a hand on top of the mob of curls instead. “Did you miss me?”

Peter nods vigorously. “Please don’t go onto any planes again,” he whispers, barely loud enough for Tony to understand. For a second, Tony wonders what they’ve told Peter. Probably not that he’d been attacked by terrorist and held hostage, so the boy only saw Tony go onto a plane and fly off, not coming back.

That was too close to what happened to Mary.

“I’m back now,” Tony only says, patting Peter’s head again, “and you know what I want? More than anything?” Peter lets go of him just enough to look him in the face. Out of the corner of his eyes, Tony sees Happy glaring at him, promising a not very friendly home coming if he says anything inappropriate. “A cheeseburger. Just a simple, good old American cheeseburger. You want one, too?”

* * *

“You’re Iron Man! You’re Iron Man! You’re Iron Man!” Peter keeps chanting as he jumps up and down on the couch, completely unable to contain all the energy that’s running through his body.

Turns out, Peter is the only one who liked Tony’s little impromptu change of direction at the press conference. Everyone else is only glaring at him.

“Peter, stop jumping on the couch,” Happy orders, reaching out to still his hyperactive kid, “or you’re gonna fall off.”

Obeying his father’s order, Peter stops jumping on the couch and promptly starts clinging to Tony’s legs, giving him a smile so big it breaks Peter’s face, eyes sparkling in a way only children’s eyes can. “Can I have an Iron Man suit for my birthday? _Pleeeaaase_?”

“No!” Happy all but screams as Tony throws his head back laughing, ignoring the aching of his still healing wounds.

“Sorry, buddy, but you have to be at least this tall for me to make you a suit,” Tony answers, raising his hand to almost his own height. Peter starts pouting, and Tony can basically hear Happy already worrying that his son tries to follow in his favorite not-uncle’s footsteps.

* * *

An explosion goes off to his right, the rocket only missing the Iron Man armor by the skin of Tony’s teeth. Tony makes a sharp turn, away from the building from which hundreds of guests are storming out, screaming and scared to death, trying to not get hit by either the falling debris or the shots from the Hammer drones.

“ _Sir, incoming call from_ -“

“I’M KINDA BUSY!” Tony screams, unable to calm down.

_“It is Ben Parker, and his location is on the premises.”_

Shit.

Peter is staying with May and Ben right now. Tony gave him unlimited access passes for the Expo. The boy almost stopped breathing when he saw them, talking about the Expo for weeks non-stop, planning to go there every single day with his Iron Man mask and the little gloves.

If Ben is here right now, that means -

“Shit. Connect, JARVIS.” At once, Tony’s ears are filled with panicked screams and explosions. “Ben, what-“

“We lost Peter!” Ben screams, not wasting a single breath. “We lost him in the crowd and can’t find him!”

Shit. Shit, shit, _shit_! As if Tony’s day hasn’t been bad enough already!

“JARVIS, you know what to do,” Tony orders his AI. “Ben, when did you last see him? What is he wearing?”

“Blue hoodie, an Expo shirt, and his mask. We lost him when we ran away from the stage. Tony-“

“I’ll find him, I promise, but you and May need to get to a safe place. Show some security guys your passes and tell them to bring you to Happy.” A notification pops up on his HUD. At once, Tony changes directions again and ups the power of his thrusters. “I’ll get Peter.” Tony doesn’t hear what Ben says, his heart beat thundering in his chest and blood rushing in his ears, while he sends a prayer to whoever is in charge of the universe that he reaches Peter before something bad can happen.

He reaches Peter when the drone locks onto him. Tony’s heart drops to his stomach, and he lands behind the boy with a loud thud, turning the drone into its atomic pieces not a second too late. “Nice work, kid,” Tony says to Peter who jumps into the air, before snatching him up and flying away to the spot JARVIS points out to him.

When they land, Tony allows himself to breath for a second, kneeling down to the little boy and pulling his mask up. Peter is staring at him with his big eyes, not quite filled with fear, but also not filled with wonder – shock it is, then. “Peter, are you hurt?” Tony asks, quickly checking for any visible injuries as his face plate slides open.

Peter only shakes his head, not a word coming out of his mouth.

An explosion goes off in the distance. More screams.

“Kiddo, you have to listen to me,” Tony says, grabbing his shoulders as gently as he can in his suit. “Ben and May will be here any second, and then you stay with them, okay? No running off to try to help me. Just stay safe.” Peter keeps looking at him and barely nods. “Peter, I need to know that you’re safe, okay? So, _please_ , stay safe.”

“Okay,” Peter finally says. Out of the corners of his eyes, Tony sees Ben and May running towards him. Pressing a quick peck against Peter’s forehead, the faceplate slides back into place, and Tony flies off.

* * *

“I’m gonna make a quick detour,” Tony announces as they all step out of the tower and onto the partly destroyed streets of Manhattan, hustling SHIELD agents, police officers and whoever else running around them like headless chicken. A twisted part of him is relieved that it had been Manhattan and not a neighborhood a little bit further east of them. “I’ll meet you at the Shawarma place.”

“A detour?” Steve Rogers – Steve _fucking_ Rogers, Captain America, the man whose ghost Howard chased his entire life, the man Tony could never live up to – asks. “Where to?”

Tony sniffs once. “Queens.” He can feel the burning gazes from his… teammates? Friends? Comrades-in-arms?, asking for more details, but he offers none.

Natasha is the first one to move. “You’re in no condition to drive. I’ll drive you,” she decides, already talking some SHIELD agent into giving her the keys to one of the vans.

For a second, Tony just stares at her before shaking his head lightly. “Why am I not surprised?” Natasha only smirks, throwing a knowing look over her shoulder.

Tony hasn’t even closed the car door as for more people slip into the car. “Who are we visiting?” Clint asks as he buckles up. Bruce and Steve look at least somewhat apologetic, but settle in nevertheless. Thor looks too big and awkward in the car, sneaking looks at the others to find out what to do, before setting his hammer down on the seat next to himself and buckling the hammer and himself up.

He could tell them to leave, tell them that this is private and they have no business to be here, but Tony is too tired to fight. He fought aliens – _aliens_! –, flew a nuke into a closing wormhole, (seeing what he’s pretty sure will be the doom of humanity), and had a heart attack he only survived thanks to Thor. He feels drained and is so, _so_ tired. He doesn’t want to fight anymore. At least not for today.

“My family,” he answers as Natasha starts the car.

They don’t talk during the drive, the only noises filling the car the soft music coming from the radio. Driving through Manhattan, through the battlefield they left behind, is though. Tony makes several mental notes for a plan to rebuild the city, as well as making sure that all the leftover weapons from the aliens don’t get into the hands of the wrong people. Through the side mirror, Tony sees Bruce dug his head, clearly ashamed by all the damage the Hulk had done. The only one who seems somewhat unbothered by the destruction around them is Thor. But he’s a god, so maybe he just has different standards.

When Natasha parks in front of the apartment building, the other Avengers stay inside the car, recognizing that he needs some time alone. Or maybe Natasha sends them death glares to stay in their seats. Tony doesn’t really care, he’s out of the car in a matter of seconds, climbing up the stairs to the apartment by taking two steps at once.

The door flies open just as Tony reaches the floor, but instead of an eleven-year old boy a woman with long brown hair storms out. “You idiot!” May says and almost crushes Tony in a hug. “You absolute, reckless idiot! How can someone with such a big brain be so stupid? Don’t _ever_ do that again, do you understand me!”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Tony laughs, unable to keep the almost manic laughter inside.

“HAPPY! PETER! BEN!” May yells and lets go of him, giving him a once over, running careful fingers across the wound on his forehead.

Then, there are more footsteps. Tony only has time to brace himself for the impact before Peter runs into him, arms tightly wrapping around his torso. Happy is hot on his heels, looking a lot paler than Tony is used to. Ben stands next to May, letting go of a breath, his shoulders dropping a few inches, probably sending a thank you prayer to whatever guardian angel Tony has.

“You all look ecstatic to see me,” Tony jokes, because that’s what he does. He jokes and ignores all the serious stuff around him.

“You’re giving me grey hairs,” Happy eventually says. “When I took your job offer, this wasn’t in the description.”

“Oh, don’t sulk. I’ll give you a raise and a new, awesome position, how about it?”

Suddenly, Tony’s legs don’t hold his weight anymore and he tries to mask it as kneeling down to hug Peter, though nobody is fooled. Tony holds on to Peter’s shaking form. It takes him a moment to realize that Peter isn’t shaking – Tony is.

“You were very brave,” Peter whispers in his ear, arms still wrapped around him tight, as if he’s trying to stop the shaking just by holding on, “and you did a really good job.”

Tony’s nose starts to tickle and his eyes are burning as a laugh escapes through his lips. It shouldn’t be a kid’s job to console him. And yet Peter’s words give him more comfort than anything else. “Thanks, kiddo.” He leans back, giving everyone a shaky but real smile. “So, I’m about to grab some food with my new friends. Anyone wanna come?”

Ben and May both shake their head. “I can’t,” Happy says. “I’m gonna pick up Pepper from the airport.”

“Oh, so she’s picking up _your_ calls? Is there something I should know?”

Happy only rolls his eyes, ignoring the comment. “Peter, you can go with Tony, if you want to.”

Peter looks from Tony to his father. “Really?”

“Sure, if Tony is fine with it.”

Tony is 90% sure Happy only offered it for Tony’s benefit. Happy will definitely get a pay raise. A big one. “Of course, Tony is fine with it,” Tony says, standing up and grabbing Peter’s hand probably a bit too tight. “Ever had Shawarma, kid?”

As they hop down the stairs and stroll back towards the black van that’s filled with literal superheroes, the crushing weight on Tony’s shoulders suddenly feels a little bit lighter.

When they climb into the car, Natasha winks at him and ruffles his hair, telling him to call her Natasha now. Peter’s eyes grow twice their normal size as he sees who else sits in the van. “Tony,” he whispers, loud enough for everyone to hear, pulling at his sleeve and mouth agape, “Dr. Banner sits in your car!”

* * *

As Tony slips into the hospital room, he’s not one bit surprised to see that someone is already there. Peter sits on a chair by Happy’s bed, head lying on his father’s arm, one hand clasping around Happy’s. His red-rimmed eyes behind his glasses are trained on the TV, only moving away from it for merely a second when Tony enters.

“Downton Abbey, huh?” Tony asks.

“Dad likes it,” Peter answers in a flat, hoarse voice. “I think it’s boring. Like, why watch something that takes place in the past when you can watch something that takes place in space?”

“Like Star Wars.”

“Yeah.” Normally mentioning Star Wars would always get the boy excited and they would have a hard time getting him to stop talking, but right now he doesn’t offer anymore than that one syllable.

Tony stands at the end of the bed a bit awkwardly. Ever since he met Peter, he never had any problem demanding a place in Happy’s and Peter’s little family, especially when Peter moved to California after Mary’s death. More than once Rhodey made a joke about Tony adopting Peter the second Happy looks away. But now he feels like he’s invading a private moment.

It doesn’t help that Tony knows that Happy got hurt because of Tony, because Tony locked himself in his workshop while Happy investigated, because Tony had been too obsessed with his own fear and paranoia to properly look after his friends – after his _family_.

Tony takes a deep breath, massaging his aching left wrist. “Peter-“

“I’m not leaving here,” Peter says stubbornly, eyes still on the TV.

“You can’t stay in here forever.”

“Watch me.”

“Peter.”

Now, Peter’s eyes snap to Tony, filled to the brim with anger and determination and pain. “I am staying with Dad.” To make his point clear, he grabs Happy’s hand tighter.

Tony suppresses a sigh and kneels down next to the boy – the teenager? -, one hand on his shoulder. “Listen, May and Ben are on their way and-“

“I’m not going to New York!” A flash of panic runs across Peter’s face. Tony’s heart starts to ache. Is it his fault Peter is hurting so much? Is the universe punishing everyone around Tony for the sins he committed? That’s not fair.

“They’re not taking you to New York. You will stay here, and you can visit your dad every day for as long as you like, but you also have to listen to them. Okay? You have to stay safe. Promise me, Peter.”

Peter is too smart. Sometimes, between his excited ramblings and his occasional clumsiness, Tony forgets it. Slowly, Peter’s eyes move from the TV to Tony, studying him for a moment. “What are you going to do?” he asks eventually.

Somehow, Tony can’t hold the eye contact, and instead watches Happy, lying unmoving in the hospital bed, tube coming out of his mouth and hooked up to too many machines. “I’m gonna find who did this.”

* * *

“You’re a traitor.”

“Don’t be dramatic.”

“Excuse me? I’m never dramatic.”

“I’ve known you for, like, all of my life. You’re the most dramatic person I’ve ever met.”

“Rude.”

Peter laughs and continues to gather all of his school supplies. Moving to New York hasn’t been really easy for the boy, especially leaving all of his friends in California behind. But one of the many good things that came with the move is Midtown, a school for kids just like him, full of little nerds. And Ned, Peter’s new best friend, who is just as nerdy and geeky as Peter.

Because of the new school and their curriculum, Happy has officially given up on helping Peter with his homework, so Tony took over (at least when it comes to all of his science classes), helping him with all of his questions he might have, and finding a few other things to challenge him. Peter’s visits to Tony’s workshop in his penthouse quickly turned into an almost daily routine, spending time with Tony until Happy and Pepper arrive and they have dinner before Happy and Peter drive home.

“Y’know, I can always arrange a field trip to Stark Industries,” Tony says, as he watches Peter stuff his Physics book in his bag. “Give all of you a special tour.”

“But I’ve been to SI, like, a thousand times. I’ve had all of the special tours.”

“Yeah, well, …. I could come up with a new special tour. One that’s so much more interesting and much more fun than any field trip to OsCorp could ever be.”

“Mom worked for OsCorp,” Peter argues, finally looking at the pouting billionaire. “I wanna see the place where she worked. Plus, they do interesting stuff.”

Tony only huffs, crossing his arms. “Interesting is one word to put it. Other’s would call it illegal.” Peter gives him a look. “Allegedly, of course, but still. I met Osborn more often than I liked, and he always gives me the creeps. There’s something fishy about it.”

“Tony, c’mon,” Peter says, and slings his bag over his shoulder, “it’s one field trip. What’s the worst that can happen?”

* * *

_“Hi, this is Peter Hogan! I can’t answer your call right now, but please leave me a message, and I will call you back.”_

“Hey, it’s me. Tony. Again. You probably already have, like, ten of these from me. If you don’t call me back soon, I might start thinking you don’t like me anymore. … Listen, I’m calling because… because we all worry about you, Peter. I know how close you and Ben were, and what happened was tragic and horrible, and this isn’t me telling you to get over it or something. You’re allowed to grieve for as long as you need, nobody is rushing you to do anything – but _please_ talk to us. We’re all worried sick about you. I know your dad is not the best at expressing his emotions, but he worries about you a lot, kid. I do, too. Sneaking out at night, getting into fights… that’s not you, Peter. I know you’re hurting, I know you’re angry, but this is not the right way to deal with it. _Please_ let us help you. … Dum-E misses you terribly, by the way. Keeps making too many smoothies, the ones with mangos you like so much. There’s even no motor oil in them, I checked. … We love you, Peter. Don’t forget that. We’re a family, and we’re all here for you. Just… give us a chance to be there for you, okay? Alright, I think it’s probably long enough now. See you soon, buddy.”

* * *

Tony sits on the bed, massaging his wrist, and wondering how the fuck his entire life turned around in a matter of a few short weeks – and how it got especially bad in just a couple of days. Every time he hits a new low, he thinks: oh, it can’t possibly get any worse than this!

The universe loves to prove him wrong.

The apartment doors opens, and he can hear Peter talking to someone, probably on the phone. After a few seconds, Tony figures out it’s Pepper.

Another stab to his heart. God, he misses her. 

Peter stops mid-sentences. A heart beat later, he mumbles: “I’ll have to call you back.” Another heart beat later, he opens the door to his room, finding Tony sitting on his bed. Tony sees that Peter senses that something is wrong. There are many giveaways. First and foremost, the fact that he’s here at all.

“Tony,” Peter says as a greeting, though a bit stiff.

Tony gives him his best paparazzi smile. “Hey there, buddy. How was your algebra test?”

“Nailed it.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else from you.”

Peter’s smile is a bit wobbly as he slides the backpack from his shoulders to the ground, all under Tony’s watchful gaze. It’s still a bit weird seeing him without glasses. “Tony, don’t take this the wrong way, but shouldn’t you be in Austria?”

Tony sniffs once. Twice. His arm aches. “I should be, yeah, and I have to be in Germany very soon. Wanna join me?”

“What-… Germany?”

Instead of answering, Tony reaches behind him, pulling forward the clothes he found at the very back of Peter’s closet, hidden underneath a loose board. Peter pales the second he sees the familiar red and blue costume, eyes jumping between Tony and the clothes. He opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, stuttering absolute nonsense.

Tony doesn’t have time for it. Ross is breathing down his neck.

“I mean, you wouldn’t be wearing this suit, of course,” he says and stands up, walking over to Peter who looks like a deer caught in the headlights. Tony raises his hand, leveling it with the top of Peter’s head. “I said I would make you a suit when you’re this tall, right? It won’t be an Iron Man armor, but that’s not Spidey’s style anyway, right?”

“How long have you known?” Peter eventually asks. For a second, Tony thinks he sees something like fear flashing across his face, which feels like a punch that knocks all of his teeth out.

“Couple of weeks,” Tony answers, taking a couple of steps back, hoping the boy won’t feel as trapped if there’s more space between them. “Spider-Man popped up pretty fast on my radar after someone started posting those videos. I’m always looking for promising recruits. It was FRIDAY who figured out the pattern between Spider-Man’s activities and your new _study group_.”

“Did you tell Dad?”

Tony can’t help but snort. “Believe me, you would know if your dad found out. His screaming at me would be heard all the way to Malibu, saying I’m being a bad role model and that this is all my fault.” Peter relaxes a little bit. “Which brings me to my next question: Are you doing this because of me?”

It’s the question Tony is most nervous about, because if Peter really only does it because of him, then Tony is gonna burn the Spider-Man suit faster than Peter can look. But the really terrifying thing? Tony knows it’s not because of him. He knows Peter, and even though Peter has been going on and on about Iron Man and getting his own armor ever since that one press conference all those years ago, he wouldn’t do this out of fun or for an adrenalin rush.

Peter clenches and unclenches his hands a couple of times, staring holes into the carpet before him. “I didn’t stop that mugger, even though I could’ve.” Tony doesn’t ask which mugger he means. He’s perfectly aware of what Peter is talking about. “And I’m not gonna make that mistake again. I can help people. So, I will.”

Tony slumps back down on the bed. He’s been afraid of hearing that answer. Because he knows he can’t stop Peter. The boy is too stubborn to have his mind changed by a few arguments. He already made his mind up that he’s going to help people, look out for the little guy, so he will.

The billionaire only half-notices that Peter sits down next to him. His next words are barely above a whisper. “Are things really so bad that you have to ask me for help?”

Tony actually considers lying to him. Maybe saying something along the lines of _If it were bad, I definitely wouldn’t ask you but someone competent_ or just anything to downplay the situation. But the truth is he can’t. Things are _that_ bad.

“I hate that I’m asking you for this,” Tony admits, burying his face in his hands, unable to even look at the boy, feeling like the most shameless person on earth. He’s asking a fourteen-year old to join him in a fight against veteran superheroes. If Happy isn’t going to kill him for this, May or Pepper will. And if they won’t, then his guilt will. “I _hate_ it. But they aren’t listening to me, and I need to stop them before something even worse can happen. Your webs… you made them, right?” There’s a mumbled _yeah_ from the boy. That doesn’t surprise Tony. The webs are a work of art, and Peter is a real chemistry genius. “They’re strong enough to hold them down. I tried figuring out a way to incorporate them into my armor, only temporary of course, but I can’t. It won’t work for me the same way it works for you.”

Tony takes a deep breath and raises his head again, looking straight at Peter and letting all of his carefully built walls down, letting Peter see what’s going on in Tony’s head. How desperate he is. How much he hates this. “I don’t want to ask. I don’t want you in any danger, and you’re gonna be in danger if you’re near them. I don’t want to see you getting hurt. But I need Spider-Man’s help.”

“Okay,” Peter agrees without any hesitation.

Somehow, that makes it worse. “Peter, this is not some game or anything.”

“I know that. But you helped me so much, Tony. You always have my back, no matter what. You’re my family. Of course, I’m gonna help you.”

Tony feels like crying. Tears are already gathering in his eyes, but before he can make a move to wipe them away, Peter throws himself forward, hugging Tony tightly. All Tony can do is hug him back, doing his best to get a grip on himself.

“What about Dad?” Peter eventually asks, still not letting go of him.

“Well, thankfully, you’re wearing a mask. The entire secret identity thing is really convenient.”

* * *

The secret identity thing works surprisingly well.

Until, of course, it blows up in their face.

Catastrophically.

“I trusted you!” Happy screams at Tony, who can do nothing but stand there, in the middle of the Hogan apartment and get screamed at. Peter is standing behind Happy, face ghostly pale as he watches the scene before him. For Peter’s sake, Tony would’ve liked to postpone it, the boy had a tough day with the whole ferry incident and already getting a telling-off from Tony. “I trusted you that you would keep him safe, and you made him a suit!”

“The suit is for his safety,” Tony tries to argue, because that glorified onesie had no safety precautions at all.

“You sneaked behind my back!” he continues to yell, ignoring Tony’s words. “You took him to Germany to fight Rogers! I talked to Spider-Man, not knowing it was my own son!”

“I just thought-“

“He is _my son_!” Happy full on screams, the words echoing back from the walls and shaking Tony’s bones. “Not yours! You don’t have the right to make decisions like that!”

“Dad, I-“

“No!” Happy whirls around, pointing a finger at his son. “You stay quiet. The adults are talking. I will be talking to you later!”

“Happy, I’m sorry-“ Tony begins, but he doesn’t get any further.

“Sorry isn’t good enough,” Happy says, suddenly almost eerily calm. Which is a lot scarier than him screaming, because now… now Tony could see how much he hurt one of his best friends. “I _trusted_ you, Tony. I trusted you that you would keep all this superhero shit as far away from my son as possible. Especially because you know better than anyone of us what it means. But you took advantage of my trust.”

Tony doesn’t know what he say. There’s nothing for him to say, nothing that could make this better, that would justify his actions.

Happy stands in the middle of their living room, vibrating with anger, and trying to calm himself down with deep breaths. It’s not working. Tony has the urge to apologize again, to explain himself, but he has the feeling it would only make Happy angrier.

“I think it would be best if you don’t see each other for a while,” Happy eventually says in a hard voice.

“What?! No, Dad-“

“No, Peter!”

“But-“

“I said no! Go change out of that damn suit. Tony will take it with him when he leaves.”

Tony has nothing to say. He’s not quite sure if he can even speak with the way his heart breaks into two.

* * *

“FRIDAY, my suit. Now!” Tony orders the second he sees the footage of his plane crushing into Coney Island. The second he spots a familiar red and blue suit between the flames of the wreckage. As soon as the suit assembles around him, Tony pushes his thrusters to the maximum while all the nightmarish scenarios start filling his head.

When he finally arrives there, the fight is already over. He sees the Vulture all webbed up with a sign stuck to him. Deciding that he can wait, Tony redirects his attention to more important matters.

“FRI, find Peter. Heat signatures, security footage, just anything.”

_“I found him, Boss_.”

Tony doesn’t wait a second to fly up to the rollercoaster, turning off as many lights as he can to draw as little attention to him as possible. Peter looks terrible, covered in blood, dust, and grime, his old suit tattered.

“I’m fine,” Peter says as soon as Iron Man floats in front of him, sounding like he’s about to fall asleep any second now.

“You don’t look fine. FRIDAY?” A full scan from his trusty AI later, Tony discovers that, yes, Peter is injured, but nothing fatal and he’s already start healing. His racing heart starts to calm down a bit. They do have some time, and Tony is too familiar with the adrenaline crash that’s bound to happen. He would prefer for it to happen on solid ground, not the slender bar of a roller coaster. “How about we find a place closer to the ground, huh? Somewhere we can wait for your dad to show up.”

Peter only nods, not protesting when Tony picks him up and lands in a hidden corner, sending a quick message to Happy where to find them. As soon as Tony lets go of him, Peter slumps down, his shaky legs giving out underneath him. “Peter!” Tony yells, stepping out of his armor.

“I’m fine, really,” Peter reassures him again, his voice as shaky as his legs. “Just- the crash from the adrenaline. I’m fine.”

“Oh, yeah?” Peter nods, his entire body shaking like a leaf now. Slowly, Tony kneels down in front of him, lying a hand on his shoulder. “Hey.” Peter raises his head just enough to look him in the eyes. Tony rewards him with a smile and a warm hand against his cheek. “You were very brave and you did a really good job.”

That cracks a smile out of him. “You couldn’t think of something more original?”

“Hey, it’s a good quote. Helped me a lot, y’know?”

Peter laughs, one that’s a hollow shell of his normal one, one that’s more a puff of air than anything else. He leans forward again, resting his head against Tony’s shoulder. Tony doesn’t waste a second to throw his arms around him, pulling him closer, and pressing a kiss against his temple. Slowly, the fear melts away, being replaced by an indescribable feeling of relief.

“I tried to stop,” Peter eventually whispers, voice full of tears as the events of the last few hours finally take their toll. Tony holds him closer. “I really tried to, Tony. I stopped patrolling, I got my grades back up, I stayed out of trouble, but then-then _he_ opened the door and I couldn’t-“

“It’s okay, buddy,” Tony calms him down. “You did great.”

“Dad will be so angry.”

“No, he won’t.”

“He sounded pretty angry a couple of weeks ago.”

“He wasn’t angry.” Peter’s silence says a lot. “Well, okay, he was angry. At me. And he was worried sick about you. He knows he can’t stop you from doing this, and that scares him. But don’t tell him I said that.” This time, Peter’s laugh sounds a bit more like his usual one. “He’s going to be very proud of you, Peter. And I’m very proud of you, too.”

As if he’d been listening in, Happy comes running towards them, not slowing down until he’s kneeling in the dirt besides them, grabbing Peter by his shoulders. “Peter? Are you- God, you look terrible!”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“FRIDAY checked him,” Tony explains. “He’s gonna okay, Happy. This is just the adrenaline and everything.”

“Thank God,” Happy whispers as he almost crushes his son against his chest, holding him as close to him as possible.

“I’m sorry,” Peter sobs, unable to stop the tears now. “I’m so, so sorry, Dad-“

“No, Peter, don’t. Don’t apologize for helping people. For helping me. We’ll figure out the rest later.” Happy looks at Tony over the mob of Peter’s curls and gives him a smile that’s simultaneously an _I’m sorry_ and _Thank you_. Tony only smiles back.

* * *

“Hey, Hogan! Is your dad picking you up? You know, _the driver_?”

Tony narrows his eyes as Peter pulls his shoulders up to his ears, face bright red, while his classmates laugh behind him. Only after Peter slips onto the passenger seat of the car does he notice that it’s not his father beside him. “Tony? What-“

“You think anyone would notice if I knocked their teeth out?” Tony interrupts him, eyes still zeroed in on the three boys leaving the school premises, all laughing brightly, totally unaware of the target they just painted on their backs.

“Uh, yeah, I think someone would notice if Tony Stark suddenly starts punching teenagers.”

“Well, but would anyone care? I mean, they clearly deserve it.”

“They don’t deserve it.”

Tony makes an obnoxious buzzer noise as he starts the car and pulls into the traffic. “Wrong, they do. They’re harassing you. And they don’t even have their facts straight. Your dad was never my driver. He drove because I was drunk most of the time. As my bodyguard, it’s his job to keep me safe, and drunk driving is not safe for anyone.”

“I’m not ashamed of Dad’s job, Tony,” Peter says with a sigh. “Why are picking me up?”

“Happy and Pepper are busy with wedding preparations and I-”

“And you aren’t allowed to be part of it because you would completely go over the top, so you’re trying to find a distraction,” Peter says with a smirk pulling at his lips.

“Well, I was gonna take you out for burgers and ice cream, but with that attitude? I don’t think so.”

“You’re just grumpy because you’re not allowed to help.”

“I mean, it is _my_ wedding.”

“Yeah, and you said you literally don’t care about any details as long as Pepper is the one you’re marrying and we’re all there.”

Tony smiles at the memory of that incident. Pepper being Pepper started planning the wedding in the same manner she handles a business deal; detailed, thorough, and with four times as many back-up plans as you actually need. By the time she asked him which folding technique he prefers for the napkins, he officially tapped out from the wedding planning, only stating his two conditions. She looked like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to kiss or scream at him for letting her do everything.

For a while, they drive in comfortable silence to their favorite burger place (yeah, yeah, Tony said he wouldn’t, but he spoils Peter and he really wants a burger), the world around them flashing by. However, Tony can’t quite forget the comment from the boys earlier. Peter obviously isn’t bothered by it anymore, he’s probably been more bothered by the unwanted attention than the comment itself, but it bothers Tony. Because it implies something that couldn’t be further from the truth. “You know you’re not just my employee’s kid, right?”

Peter turns his head around to give Tony a confused look, who keeps his eyes on the road, sniffing once to get right of the clenching feeling around his heart. “If you’re telling me about some secret paternity test or something, I’m gonna jump out of this car James Bond style.”

Tony can’t help but laugh. “No, that’s not what I mean. I just… You’re part of my family, kid.”

“I know that, Not-Uncle Tony,” Peter smiles, emphasizing the nickname. “You’re part of my family, too.”

Tony has a hard time fighting the small smile that tries its best creeping onto his face. “Yeah, well, good. Just wanted to make that clear. In case some dipshits decide to comment on things they have absolutely no clue about.”

“Tony-“

“And your father is not just an employee, he’s-“

“Oh my God, is this the confession TMZ has been waiting for ever since Dad started working for you? Should I record this for them?”

“Hey, stop with all that sassiness, I’m trying to have a heartfelt moment here,” Tony says with a faux-glare, but Peter simply smiles brightly. The billionaire doesn’t notice that he mirrors the smile. “Your father is one of my best friends, one of the bravest human beings I’ve ever met, and he saved my ass just as many times as Rhodey has. I mean, most of those incidents were reputation-related, but still. Don’t let anyone tell you any different because they can’t see past job titles and social status.”

“Thanks,” Peter says honestly. No matter what the boy says, Tony knows the comments from some of his nastier classmates get to him, and Tony would gladly do something about it, but he also knows there’s little he can do. At least not without embarrassing Peter and most likely Happy, too. So, he holds still and reminds Peter of the reality.

For another long moment, they sit in silence. Then, Peter asks: “Would you ever say that to his face?”

“Oh, God no!” Peter’s laughs booms through the car. “Could you imagine? Me saying all of that to him? He would straight up hand me his letter of resignation and leave.”

“I’m not so sure about that. He does compliment you when you’re not there to hear it.”

“Really? What does he say?”

“I’m not a snitch.”

Tony sighs dramatically which coaxes another laugh out of Peter. “Let’s get some burgers. I’m starving.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Another chapter because I just couldn't stop myself? Yes, it is. 
> 
> But all jokes aside, thank you so much for all of your comments and support, it really motivated me to continue this! 
> 
> Enjoy! <3 (and have your tissues ready)

Pepper passes Tony the mashed potatoes during their almost-daily family dinner, when Peter says: “So, there’s this school thing coming up.”

“School thing?” Tony asks, raising one eyebrow, smirk already on his face. “Do we have to guess? Can I get a hint? Oh, are they finally firing your Physics teacher? Should I expect an email in which they beg me to fill in?”

Everyone on the table rolls their eyes and ignores Tony’s comment. Oh, how much Tony loves these family moments. “It’s some kind of career day,” Peter explains. “For parents to come in and talk about their jobs, so the school can keep up the charade of preparing us for the working life and helping us to figure out what we want to do after school and everything.”

A subtle tension fills the table. Pepper and Tony exchange a quick look, very aware of the fact that Happy is stabbing his peas with a little more force than necessary. Midtown might be one of the best schools for a science-oriented curriculum in the country, but that doesn’t mean that the school isn’t filled with elitist pricks who take a lot of pleasure from knowing they job description sounds more important than someone else’s. Peter is mostly unbothered by it – Happy however… That’s a different story. There’s a reason May is the one that goes to all of the parent-teacher conferences (Tony would go, but he has been banned from going before he could even get the chance to go to one), even though they all know how much Happy wants to go.

But Peter is oblivious to the tension, because he only turns to his father and asks: “It’s next Friday, you think you can make some time for it?”

Happy looks up from his tortured and pierced peas, and blinks. “You want… me to go there?”

“Well, duh? It’s a thing for _parents_. You fall into that category, don’t you?” Peter raises one eyebrow, a move he definitely copied from Tony. “Or do you have to tell me something?”

“I just thought you would… rather want Tony or Pepper to go,” Happy says, shifting his weight on his chair uncomfortably.

“They’re not my parents.”

“Their jobs are a lot more interesting than mine.” For a second, Happy’s eyes fly to Pepper and Tony, who both try very hard not to move a single muscle. Their jobs are – objectively – a lot more interesting. All of the little nerds in Peter’s class would probably lose their minds over getting an insight into Tony’s job. Besides, Tony loves talking about his job, impressing them with his creations, especially because they would understand it. However, this isn’t the right time to say any of it. “Plus, I’m not sure your teachers will appreciate it if you bring someone in who didn’t even go to college.”

“But that’s why I think it’s even more important that you go,” Peter argues. “To show everyone that you don’t have to go to college to have a successful career. I mean, you started out as a boxer and now you have leading position at one of the world’s most influential companies, all without reading a single book in your English class. And I know that a few people in my class would actually really benefit from hearing your story. It’ll take a bit of the pressure off their shoulders, knowing that there are other ways to success, too.”

Pepper and Tony share another look, while Happy stares at his son who’s suddenly very interested in his mashed potatoes. “I mean, it’s fine if you don’t want to. I know you don’t like coming to my school or giving speeches or whatever. So, Pepper, Tony, do you-“

“I’ll do it.” They all whip their head around so fast, it makes them dizzy. Happy clears his throat once and tries to look as unbothered as possible before repeating: “I’ll do it.”

“For real?”

“Yeah. Or did you change your mind already?” Peter quickly shakes his head no, a smile already spreading on his face. “Great, so it’s settled then. Pepper, you think I can clear my schedule for next Friday?”

“It won’t be a problem,” she says with a smile that’s she hides in her wine glass.

* * *

Tony glances over to Peter, who sits at his workbench, tinkering around with the new version of his web shooters. A nervous feeling blooms in his chest. Tony isn’t humble. Bragging about his skills is just too much fun, especially if he can make others – read: Justin Hammer – make feel stupid while doing it. But one thing he’s definitely not good at? Talking about his emotions. Or someone else’s emotions. Just emotions in general.

Guess what he’s about to do: Talk about emotions.

He would straight up just leave the lab if it weren’t for Happy’s request. His friend came to him earlier this day, and voiced his concerns about Peter’s mental health. Ever since the entire Vulture Incident, Peter suffered from nightmares. Peter having nightmares is nothing new, often dreaming about Mary or Ben. But these ones seem to different, having him screaming and trashing around, gasping for air, only waking up when Happy shakes his shoulders violently.

It’s not difficult to connect the dots. Whatever happened at the Homecoming night was causing the new nightmares. And what happened back then is superhero-related, so Happy asked Tony to talk to Peter, hoping their shared experience might make this easier.

Happy should really know better than to think Tony wants to talk about any of his superhero-related trauma, but he sees the dark circles under Peter’s eyes, he sees the way he sometimes flinches or how his hands start to shake, how he suddenly gets unusually nervous in small spaces. For the boy’s sake, Tony will push his own discomfort to the side and talk about his feelings.

Building the first Iron Man armor in the cave in Afghanistan seemed easier than this.

Clearing his throat, Tony rolls his chair next to Peter’s, causing the boy to look up from his project. “We should talk.”

Peter blinks. “Uh, okay.” Tony’s palms start getting sweaty. “Do you have any particular topic in mind or is this one of those times where you need to talk to put your thoughts in order?”

“Your dad told me you’re not sleeping well.” At once, Peter’s spine straightens, eyes going big, and he looks like he’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “He thinks it might be because of Spider-Man. And since we agreed that I’m responsible for all the Spider-Man stuff...” How do you ask for something like this? “What’s up?” That’s probably not the best way. Well, too late to change it now.

“It’s nothing,” Peter is quick to say, eyes back on the web shooters.

“Kid, ever since you started talking, you were never able to lie to me. So, try again.”

“It’s no big deal, really, and-“

“So there _is_ something.” Peter doesn’t answer. Instead, he shrinks, making himself as small as possible, maybe hoping that Tony would stop seeing him and therefor forget about this entire conversation. But Tony cares too much about Peter to let him go through the same hell-like journey he went through until he realized that being not okay is completely valid and okay. “It’s okay if there is something. No matter how big or small. Hell, I would be more concerned if there _isn’t_ something.”

Peter is still not responding to anything he says. However, his hands start to get a little more fidgety, twirling the web shooter between his fingers instead of working on them.

Well, time to bring out the big guns.

“Maybe you don’t remember most of what I’m about to say because you were so young, but I was a complete mess after every major mission I had. I didn’t want to deal with any nightmares, so I didn’t sleep at all. I didn’t want to deal with any guilt or pain or whatever, so I drank. Lots. I didn’t want to deal with my own mortality when the whole palladium poisoning was happening, so I made a lot of stupid decisions just to feel alive. Then, after New York… well, basically every mistake I made afterwards – locking away in the work shop, building Ultron – was because of that. If I just talked to someone, I could’ve saved myself and everyone around me a lot of pain.”

“Why didn’t you?” Peter asks in a small voice, still not looking at him, but Tony takes what the boy offers.

“Because I didn’t think anyone would understand. I mean, how could they, right? How could anyone understand what this life is about? How it feels to save the day, but it doesn’t feel that way because you keep thinking about everyone you couldn’t save, about all the mistakes you made. About feeling this… this _need_ to go out there and help everyone, even though you might not get a thank you, even though you’re probably getting hurt while doing it. But you don’t necessarily need someone who understands what you’re going through. Sometimes, it’s just enough if someone listens.” Tony lays a hand on Peter’s, stopping his fidgeting fingers and squeezing them briefly. “I’m here. I’m listening. And I understand it.”

Peter looks at their hands, mouth still tightly shut, but Tony can basically see the gears working inside his head. He’s known Peter for so long, by now he’s very familiar with all his silences and his need to give himself a little pep talk before talking about a big issue.

Eventually, he lifts his head enough to look at Tony – watery eyes finally showing how tired he really is, showing the real weight he’s been carrying around for weeks. “Please don’t get mad.”

“I won’t.”

“I feel like you will.”

“Hey, buddy,” Tony says gently, turning Peter’s chair around until he’s facing him, wrapping both of his hands around Peters. The boy is taking deep breath, trying to stop the tears from spilling over. “I promise I won’t get mad. No matter what you’re going to say. And besides, it can’t be any worse than anything I did, right?” It coaxes a weak laugh out of Peter, probably thinking about all the times Tony has done something ridiculous – and dangerous – that Peter has laughed about, not really understanding the danger and damage behind Tony’s actions, while everyone around them looked angry. “I promise to not get mad. But, please, _talk_ about it, okay?”

Peter takes another deep breath and nods his head, a single tear escaping out of his eyes. Tony is quick to wipe it away. “There was this warehouse.”

* * *

Tony’s phone buzzes next to him. Not thinking too much about it, he opens the text from Happy, takes one look at it – and starts to groan deeply. “You’ve corrupted your father.”

“What?” Peter asks, looking up from his school book.

“You’re rubbing off on your dad,” Tony repeats. “He starts sending me these weird pictures, too, instead of answering me.”

To prove his point, the billionaire shows Peter the conversation opened on his phone, and Happy’s response to Tony’s question about his whereabouts. It’s the picture of a guy in a suit with the caption “I was over on the bench” written at the bottom of it. Peter already sent Tony the same picture a couple of times, as well as a lot of other ones. Tony has a folder labeled **Things Peter Sends Me I Don’t Understand** and it’s filled to the brim with all his memes. One day, he will find the day to look their actual meanings up, but it’s quite a project. 

However, instead of feeling guilty about his bad influence on his father, Peter throws his head back laughing. “You can’t be mad about John Mulaney!”

“I can be mad about not getting a real answer! How did you even get him to do this? I vividly remember him complaining about not understanding any of the things you sent him. It was something we could bond over, wondering if there’s some Teenagers-Parents dictionary out there while trying to understand what you’re trying to communicate.”

“We watched his shows on Netflix, and Dad likes them.” Peter shrugs as if it’s no big deal. “I thought about getting Dad some tickets to one of his shows for his birthday.”

“You sure you’re not just doing that so _you_ can see the show?” Tony only gets a very unimpressed look from the boy, before he claps in his hands. “C’mon, time to clean up. I’ll drive you home. You have that field trip tomorrow, right? The one to MoMa?”

“Yeah,” Peter sighs, packing all of his school work back into his backpack, “I just hope it won’t turn out like my last field trip.”

“Buddy, I don’t think that’s possible.”

* * *

“Tony? I don’t feel so good.”

* * *

Tony is dead.

Nebula doesn’t agree, but she has to be lying. Or maybe she’s just a fabrication of this never-ending nightmare, of his own personal hell. He always thought his personal hell would be a scenario in which everyone he ever loved turned away from him and leave him alone, not caring one bit if he’s actually there or happy or healthy or alive.

Turns out his real personal hell is the knowledge that he couldn’t stop the threat he’d been preparing for since 2012, it’s watching all hope leave everyone around him as it dawns to them that they’ve lost, it’s having the kid he’s been helping to raise cling to him with a bruising grip, begging him to make it stopping, sobbing that he doesn’t want to go, pleading for help, until he accept his fate, turning to dust no matter how much Tony begs the universe to stop. It’s watching all of this and not being the next one, staying in one piece while everyone around him turned to a pile of ash and dust.

(He can’t decide if he needs the ash to go, to never ever touch his skin, or if he needs to collect even the smallest dust particles, the only thing left of Peter.)

Nebula is stubbornly trying to keep him alive. Sometimes, he wishes she would just stop. That she would just take the last bit of food and pretend to eat it, instead of insisting on him eating it because he obviously needs it more. For so many years, he’d done his best to escapes death’s greedy grasp, but now that he wants to go, the universe doesn’t allow it.

Because the universe sends Carol Danvers. Blinding, flying, breathing-in-the-waste-emptiness-of-space Carol Danvers who carries their spaceship back to earth, just when Tony thought he would finally get some rest from all the guilt and pain.

When Nebula helps him climb out of the spaceship and Steve appears at his side, Tony starts to believe that he really isn’t dead.

He doesn’t know if that’s good or bad.

A part of him realizes that he’s talking, about not being able to stop Thanos, about losing Peter, because those thoughts have filled his head constantly over the past few weeks, because they seemed like the only things that mattered. Then, suddenly, Pepper is there, throwing her arms around him, and he feels like he can finally draw in a much-needed breath. She’s crying and Tony would be, too, if he weren’t so dehydrated and caught in a strange trance.

Then, he sees Happy coming over.

(“I don’t wanna go. I don’t wanna go, Tony, _please_. Please, _I don’t wanna go_.”)

Tony tries to say something. Tries to explain what had happened, but no words leave his mouth, all swallowed up by the infinite ocean of guilt that replaced every atom of his body.

(“I’m sorry.”)

Happy knows what Tony is trying to say. He can see it in his eyes, can see the exact second Happy realizes that his kid, _his son_ , won’t step out of that spaceship and throw himself into his father’s arms, talking way too fast about something nobody who’s over the age of 25 understands with an enthusiasm that is completely unmatched.

Not for the first time, Tony wishes he had been him who got dusted instead of Peter.

“No,” Happy breathes.

“I-“ Tony starts, but he doesn’t know how to finish his sentence. _I’m sorry_ isn’t enough. And it has been Tony’s fault. For not sending Peter back to earth, for letting this happen to him. What are the right words to apologize for something like that?

“No,” Happy repeats, but this time with an almost manic kind of confidence, “no, this is not happening. It’s not. I need-… He needs my help. It’s my job to protect him, and- …I can help him, if I can just-“ Rhodey steps up to him, trying to put a hand on his shoulder, but Happy slaps it away long before it can reach him.

Tony makes a step forward, but his legs are too weak. Pepper catches him before he can fall, holding him close and upright, clinging to him like she’s afraid he’ll disappears back into space if she lets go of him even a little bit.

“You!” Happy all but yells, strutting over who Carol who turns around, shoulders square with an unreadable expression, not sure if she’ll need to defend herself or not. “You need to take me there! Wherever it is they were, I have to go there!”

“Who are you?” she only asks back.

“I need to go there!” Happy continues, his entire body shaking now. “I need- I need to go where he is and I-“ His words get lost in a sob. Tony has never heard the man sob before. It’s a heart-shattering sound. Happy grips Carol’s shoulders, his head bowed down. Glittering tears, almost invisible in the night, fall to the ground. “Please,” Happy begs. “ _Please_! He is my son. I have to protect him. I’m his dad, it’s my job to keep him safe. I have to-“ The rest of his sentence gets swallowed by another sob.

Carol’s stony face changes, morphs into something full of compassion and grief. “I’m so sorry.”

Happy falls down to his knees.

Tony moves to take a step forward, but everything turns black.

* * *

The phone in Tony’s hands is the newest model. Small, elegant, and lighter than anything else that has ever been on the market. But right now, it’s heavier than anything Tony has ever lifted before – a lot heavier than Mjölnir has been.

This entire day has been a whirlwind. Steve and Natasha coming to their cabin with Scott – Scott, who hasn’t been dusted but spent the last years in a different dimension –, then finally, after five years, figuring out time travelling, the realization and the hope that it could actually work; the all consuming angst of what he could lose if he tries it.

Sighing, Tony looks around. From his spot on the steps of the porch of the cabin, he has a perfect view of their lake. The moon’s reflection on the water is slightly rippled. He can see part of Gerald, who is sleeping just as soundly as Pepper and Morgan in the house.

Slowly, he unlocks the phone again. The contact **Forehead Of Security** pops up immediately. The last five years have been more than tough. It got easier when Tony and Pepper moved out here and had Morgan, living in their own little bubble. Well, it got easier for _them_.

But Happy… There have been times where Tony wouldn’t hear for him for weeks, wouldn’t get the tiniest sign of life from him, and he’d been seriously worried. Tony makes an effort to try to reach his old friend, either by text or calling him. Most of his calls get rejected. His texts are taciturn. Tony doesn’t blame him for not picking up or reaching out by himself. After all, Tony failed to protect Peter.

Happy met Morgan, and he stops by often enough for them to actually form some kind of connection, but not as close as Tony wishes they were. The Not-Uncle joke lays on Tony’s tongue whenever he sees both of them together, but it feels too heavy and wrong to say it.

It always gets worse around Peter’s birthday. On Peter’s 18th birthday, Tony drove to Happy’s place to check up on him. It hasn’t been a pretty sight, and neither of them ever talk about it.

Taking a deep breath, Tony calls the number. Surprisingly, the call doesn’t get rejected. Maybe because it’s the middle of the night, or maybe because Happy rejected his last few calls and this call won the Picking-Up-lottery. “Tony?” Happy asks, his voice heavy and still full of sleep.

A part of Tony feels bad for waking him up. Another part of him knows that Happy won’t care about being woken up in the middle of the night once he hears the news. “I figured it out.”

“Figured what out?”

“A way to bring him back.”

“What?” Suddenly, Happy sounds wide awake. Tony buries his face in his free hand. “What are you saying?”

“You heard me. I figured it out. I could bring him, and everyone else, back.”

A moment passes between them in silence. For a second, Tony thinks about explaining it; explaining the crazy idea he has been nursing for the last years, the one that seemed impossible to realize until Scott showed up. But Happy doesn’t ask for details or anything like that.

Instead, he starts to beg.

“What do you want me to say?” Happy asks, not giving Tony enough time to answer. “Do you want me on my knees, begging you to give it a shot? Because I will do that. Tony, I will do _anything_ -“

“The chances are slim that we can actually pull it off,” Tony interrupts, eyes already closed and his heart painfully beating against his ribcage as he prepares himself for what he’s about to say. “It’s very dangerous and-“

“I don’t care how dangerous it is. Fuck, if you’re too afraid to do it, I’ll do it.”

“Happy, no, you-“

“I what? You don’t think I will? You don’t think I’m capable of doing your superhero stuff? I’m just as much human as you, and I’ll punch as many of those ugly aliens as I have to if it ends with Peter coming back.”

“I don’t-“

“Tony, _please_ , he’s my son! I’ll do anything-“

“I’m not calling you to ask you whether I should do this or not. I’m calling to ask you to look after Pepper and Morgan when shit goes sideways.”

The moment of silence stretches into an eternity as countless of really terrible, horrible, gut-wrenching thoughts and scenarios run through Tony’s head. Time travel is the only possible way to bring everyone back, Tony knows that. He knows that, because he’s been thinking about it for the last five years almost non-stop. But time travel is also so incredible risky. At least Hollywood gets that part right about science. The smallest alteration in their past could change their entire present and future.

Tony could look at someone the wrong way, and it could result in Morgan never being born. That’s not a risk he’s willing to take for anyone in the world – except for Peter. Because Peter isn’t just anyone.

“What do you mean?” Happy asks in low, calm voice.

Tony wipes away a tear with the back of his hand and clears his throat. “I think I can pull it off. But it’s dangerous. And if this actually works out, then it will only become more dangerous. To be completely honest, the chances that I will make it through this entire thing are slim to none. So, I just need to know that someone is there to support them in case I don’t make it.”

Happy isn’t telling him to be more optimistic. After over two and a half decades of knowing Tony and all the shit he gets himself into, his former bodyguard knows when Tony is exaggerating and when he’s telling the truth. Tony is infinitely grateful that Happy doesn’t try to make him feel better or downplay the situation.

“Of course, I will,” Happy eventually answers. “We’re family, right?”

Despite all the weight that’s threatening to crush Tony into tiny pieces, Tony chuckles. This is the longest conversation they had in years. “Yeah, we are. Thanks.” Happy only mumbles in response, but doesn’t hang up. Neither does Tony. “Did you really think I would make you beg to bring him back?”

“Tony-“

“No, Happy, I-“ Tony takes a deep breath. “I know this is probably really weird for me to say, especially to you, because you’re his father, but Peter is not just some kid to me. He never has been. I love him just as much as I love Morgan, and I would give my right hand and so much more to get him back.”

“You’re right, that is a weird thing to say. But you can it as often as you want if you bring him back.”

“I will. I promise.”

* * *

Tony is shooting aliens from Thanos’ army left and right as he gets smacked into an especially large piece of rubble. Turning around, his gloves turn into guns, already firing uselessly at the armored alien that is three times his size and determined to stab him with his sword-thingy that looks very deadly – but suddenly, the alien gets yanked away and stepped on by a giant foot. Allowing himself to take a much-needed breath, Tony retracts his helmet and the guns morph back into his gloves.

Then, _he_ is there.

“Oh, hey, Tony!”

Peter lands in front of him. Peter, who doesn’t look a day older than he had five years ago, dressed in his Iron Spider suit, giving him a mad grin that is born from too much adrenalin, fear, and the unreal realization that he’s actually fighting aliens with other superheroes.

Peter. Breathing. In one piece.

 _Alive_.

Tony forgets how to breathe as the teenager grabs his arms and pulls him on his feet. “Holy cow! You will not believe what’s going on! Do you remember when we were in space? And I got all dusty? And-“ Peter keeps on rambling, a never-ending stream of words coming out of his mouth, like Tony could ever forget one of the worst moments of his life. However, Tony isn’t thinking about that day on Titan. Because Peter is _here_ , right in front of him, less than a foot away, talking and talking and _talking_ like he always used to do, something Tony hasn’t heard in five years.

Peter is _back_.

Before the tears in his eyes can spill over or his next breath turns into a sob, Tony steps forward, engulfing Peter in a hug, pressing him against his chest with the intent of never letting him go, forgetting the chaos around them for just one second. Peter doesn’t hesitate to return the hug – he never hesitates to return a hug – and Tony feels some of the tension in Peter’s shoulders melt away. “Tony?”

“I’ve missed you,” he only whispers, pressing a quick kiss to Peter’s cheek. “ _So_ _much_.”

* * *

Every single bone in Tony’s body hurts – well, expect for every bone in his right arm, seeing as the arm is pretty much a dead piece of meat. When he stole the Infinity Stones from Thanos and placed them in the gauntlet of his suit, the combined power of them has been too much, frying his arm with their energies, leaving him in excruciating pain. He knew he needed to snap, knew it was the only way they could end this, but anything besides breathing seemed impossible to do.

Then, Carol Danvers appeared besides him, just as blinding and life-saving as the first time he saw her. With a smirk and the words _I’ll take it from here_ , the nanobots from his suit wandered over to her, carrying the stones with them, forming into a glove effortlessly around her hand.

She snapped, and it was over.

Tony isn’t sure if he would’ve survived if he snapped himself.

But despite all the pain, despite losing his right arm and having his neck and part of his face scarred, Tony couldn’t be happier. Not when Peter is right next to him, Tony’s left arm slung over his shoulders because the boy insisted on supporting him, Pepper on Peter’s other side, cheeks tear-streaked but a radiant smile on her face.

Peter is back.

And it’s finally over.

Tony should probably go find a doctor to look at his arm, but let’s be honest, there’s nothing they can save anyway, and there are other people who have more serious wounds. It could wait a few hours until no one was in any life-threatening condition anymore. Plus, it also means he gets to spend more time with his family, so it’s basically a win-win situation for everyone.

“Mommy! Daddy!”

Pepper and Tony recognize that shriek in a heartbeat. Morgan runs towards them, seeming oblivious to the chaos and destruction around them, jumping straight into Pepper’s waiting arms. As much as Tony would’ve liked to pick up his daughter, he knows he has to get used to only having one functioning arm before being able to catch her weight and stop both of them from falling over.

But Morgan isn’t alone.

Happy is hot on her heels, but unlike the little firecracker in Pepper’s arms, he slows down and comes to a stop not too far away from him. “Peter,” he whispers breathlessly, eyes wide and face pale, like he can’t really believe that this is really happening.

Peter, however, knows this is happening. He lets go of Tony – taking a nanosecond to reassure himself that Tony isn’t about to fall over once he doesn’t hold him up anymore – and races to his father, throwing himself against Happy with enough force to almost knock them to the ground. The second Peter has his arms around Happy, the man starts to cry. Happy, who usually doesn’t like being seen as emotional, cries and sobs, holding his son as close to him as possible, whispering words Tony can’t understand.

Morgan demands Tony’s attention, and he decides to give Happy and Peter some privacy.

“Who’s that?” Morgan asks as Happy and Peter join them eventually. Both their eyes are bright red from the tears – just like everyone else’s eyes – but the smiles on their faces are wide and full of joy. Happy shots Tony a look, one that conveys gratefulness he can’t even begin to put into words. Tony only smiles back.

“That’s Peter,” Tony answers, “your not-cousin. Peter, meet Morgan.”

“Wait, she’s _your_ daughter?” Peter asks Tony faux-surprised, but the glint of mischief in his eyes is highly visible. “But she’s too adorable to be yours!”

“Excuse me?” Everyone else around them only laughs.

“He’s family, Morgan,” Pepper explains as Morgan only continues to stare at Peter. “Don’t worry, you’ll get along great.”

“You can get to know each other during family dinner,” Happy adds, and Tony feels the smile spread across his own face while Pepper’s eyes start to water even more. They didn’t have a family dinner like this in five years.

“We’re gonna need a bigger dinner table,” Morgan declares seriously, not knowing why everyone starts laughing again.

* * *

“Time traveling,” Peter huffs out with a laugh, staring at the holo-screen floating in front of him. “That’s actual, real, _working_ time traveling.”

“It sure is, kiddo,” Tony says and leans back on his couch. They’re in the garage of the lake cabin (“ _What_?! You got a kid _and_ an alpaca?!”) and Tony just couldn’t not show Peter his work, knowing how much he would lose his mind.

And, just as he predicted, Peter did lose his mind.

“That’s incredible,” Peter continues. “We could go back in time and get a _dinosaur_!”

“There is literally an entire movie franchise out there why that’s not a good idea.”

“I’m not saying we should open a theme park with real dinosaurs, I’m saying we should get one which is gonna be Gerald’s buddy.”

Tony snorts and tries to imagine their alpaca cuddling with a dinosaur. To be honest, it’s not the weirdest thing he’s seen in the last few years.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the battle. Tony’s useless right arm got amputated, but the scarring on his face, neck, and shoulder are still there. He has to get used to only having one arm, finding himself reaching out with the hand that isn’t there anymore way too often, experiencing phantom feelings and pains – still, it’s better than being dead.

Iron Man officially retired – the suits (Iron Man and Rescue) are still there, but only for absolute emergencies. Happy and Peter still live in the city in their old apartment, but they visit them as often as they can. Tony selfishly wishes they would move out here – he already has blueprints for their own little house and just waits to start building it – wanting both of them closer to him, to have his family close by his side, but he’s not voicing his thoughts. Peter has to go back to school, May still lives in Queens, and Happy works in Manhattan. Driving back and forth everyday would take too much time. So, Tony happily takes whatever he can get and tries to hold on to it for as long as he can, always coming up with some reason or another for them to stop by or just wait an hour longer until they drive back home.

“I still can’t believe it,” Peter continues, slumping down on next to Tony. “Like, I never thought this is something that would happen while I’m alive, y’know? Then again, the only person to figure it out has to be you. And bringing back half of the universe is probably a big motivation, too.”

Peter grins at him, but Tony’s heart skips a beat. The boy can hear it, Tony knows it when he sees his somewhat concerned look, maybe fearing that Tony is having a heart attack or something. Talking about his emotions has never been something Tony has been too fond of – but the last five years changed him. And he needs Peter to know how important he is to him, needs him to know why he risked his new life. “Yeah, well, if we’re being completely honest here, I didn’t really do it for half of the universe. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they’re back and everything… but they weren’t my main motivation.”

“What do you mean?”

Tony sniffs and gives him a meaningful look.

Peter’s eyes grow as big as saucers. “No.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s the truth.”

“But-… Half of the universe!”

“I know. They’re really lucky that I love you so much.” Peter opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, but no words comes out of there. Tony can’t say if Peter is so shocked because he can’t believe that he’s so important to Tony or because Tony put one person above half of the universe. “Peter, you’re my family. You’re just as important to me as Morgan is. So, when I had the chance to bring you back, I took it. Simple as that. Everything else that happens is only a lucky byproduct. But don’t tell the press, they would lynch me for it.”

That, at least, gets a laugh out of Peter, who finally breaks out of his stupor, and the sudden tension between them ebbs away. “I mean, the headline _Hero Of The Universe Saved Everyone Because Of Selfish Reasons_ sounds pretty dramatic. They would sell a lot of papers.”

“I don’t even know why anyone would be surprised, to be honest. They already made hundreds of articles about me being selfish. It’s not new exciting news.”

Peter laughs again before leaning forward and hugging Tony. These times are the only times Tony really misses his arm, wishing he could hug back with both of his arms. “Thank you,” Peter whispers into his shoulder.

“Always.”

* * *

Peter shuffles into the room nervously, rolled up blue prints clutched between his hands.

Tony looks at him over his glasses. “If this is another twenty-minute presentation about why we should use time traveling to get a dinosaur, it’s a hard no from me. And I know for a fact that you’re the one who put that particular idea into Morgan’s head, and now she asks for a dinosaur as a reward every time she does literally anything that resembles a chore.”

“I mean, I didn’t plan to talk about dinosaurs, but if you’re interested, I could-“

“What is that in your hands, Pete?” Tony interrupts him, not ready for another dinosaur conversation, and makes a grabby motion towards the blue prints.

At once, a faint blush colors Peter’s face. “It’s only a proposal, and you can totally say no.”

“Can I have a look at it first, or should I decide without looking at it?” Still blushing, Peter spreads out the blue prints on the (new, bigger) dinner table. Tony’s eyes fly over them to get a general idea of whatever idea Peter came up with, but then he’s only able to blink at the papers before him. “That’s… That’s an arm.”

“Y-Yeah,” Peter nods, very interested in his socked feet.

Tony wants to say more, but he can’t. It’s not just any arm, of course. It’s a robotic arm. It’s a prosthesis for Tony. A good one, too, close to flawless even. Over the last few years, he kind of forgot how talented the young man before him really is, but right now, looking at the design, he remembers. After all, Peter is the same kid that created his web fluid underneath his lab desk at school with no help of Tony or FRIDAY (or anyone else for that matter) at all.

For a long moment, neither of them says anything, Tony still too surprised by what he’s seeing, and Peter too embarrassed to draw attention to himself.

“Why did you do this?” Tony eventually asks.

“It’s just an idea,” Peter is quick to say, obviously getting the wrong idea about why Tony is asking that questions. “We don’t have to make it. It’s probably a terrible design anyway, I’ve never done anything like this, after all, and-“

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Tony says, raising a finger to stop Peter before firmly placing it on the blue prints. “This? This is incredible.”

The shade of Peter’s face is very close to the shade of a tomato. “You don’t need to say that to make me feel better.”

“I’m not. These designs are good. _Really_ good. In fact, if someone would pitch me these ideas during a meeting, I would start manufacturing them in a heartbeat.” Peter’s face shines even brighter. “But you still haven’t answered my question. Why did you do this?”

“Well, I know you miss your arm.” Peter shrugs, like it’s no big deal that he came up with this. “You invented time travel for me. It only feels right to do this to pay you back.”

“I never ask you to pay me back.”

Peter smiles. “I know. But I want to. I mean, with who else can I work in the garage otherwise?”

* * *

Happy and Tony watch in amusement how Peter is jumping from one corner of their apartment to the next, turning over every piece of furniture he comes across in his search of… Tony isn’t quite sure what exactly, he hasn’t asked and at this point, it’s too much fun guessing what it might be.

“I still can’t believe you’re gonna fly commercial,” Tony comments just as Peter picked up the couch to look for the mystery object underneath there.

“Most of humanity flies commercial,” Happy grunts, though there is a tone of amusement in his voice. “You’re just spoiled.”

“I mean, I did offer to give the school my private jet for their trip. For free, even! They could’ve saved so much money, and the students would’ve loved that.”

“I wouldn’t,” Peter disagrees, almost absentmindedly as he puts down the couch on its original place and whirls around, scanning the room for places he hasn’t looked yet. There are not a lot left.

“And why is that?”

Happy starts to smirk. “Because it would interfere with his plan to ask Michelle out.”

“Dad!” Peter screeches, face bright red, forgetting his treasure hunt for a second in favor of being mortally embarrassed.

“Excuse me?” Tony looks from Happy to Peter in mock-shock, his robotic hand placed over his heart. “What plan? Why wasn’t I informed about this? And are we all talking about the same Michelle? Michelle Jones? Michelle my-friends-call-me-MJ-Michelle? The Michelle who’s captain of your Decathlon team? The one that’s _a bit scary and intimidating, but also very pretty and so smart and every time I look at her I get butterflies in my stomach and act like an idiot_?”

“I did _not_ say that!”

“Maybe not, but judging by the color of your face, you clearly thought it.”

Peter mumbles something, trying his best to make his face look normal again, and failing at it. Instead, he continues his search.

“He didn’t want to tell you because you would make a big deal out of it and go over the top,” Happy explains. “Though, I have to say, his plan is just as extreme as yours.”

“My plans are not extreme.”

“Do I need to remind you of the bunny?”

“Oh, I loved that bunny,” Peter throws in as he rummages through a drawer of a commode. “I don’t understand why I couldn’t keep it. Pepper didn’t want it.”

“Because it didn’t fit into any of your rooms, not even the one at Tony’s mansion,” Happy says with a roll of his eyes. Then, he reaches into the box they have that filled with all those little, trivial things that don’t have a permanent spot, and pulls out what looks like a headphone adapter. “You looking for this?”

Peter whirls around and needs a second before recognizing the little gadget. “Yes! Thank you!” He happily throws the adapter into his backpack before joining both of them at table. “You’re not allowed to make fun of me for having a plan, by the way. The last time I asked a girl out, her dad turned out to be my archenemy.”

“You use that term way too casually,” Tony comments with a dismissive wave of his hand and a roll of his eyes. “When you were five, learning how to tie your shoes was you archenemy. Last week, it was the guy at the bodega who bought the last pack of gummy worms.”

Before Peter can answer that, Happy intervenes. Which is probably the only reasonable thing to do, as this is not the first time they have this discussion. “Are you nervous about your trip?”

Peter shrugs, fidgeting with the strings of his hoodie. “I mean, a little bit. My last two school trips were pretty catastrophically, so…”

“Well, third time’s a charm, right?” Tony says with a bright smile, hoping to take some of Peter’s nervousness away.

* * *

The second the plane touches the ground of the tulip field in the Netherlands, both Happy and Tony basically fall over their own feet in the effort to get to Peter. Peter who looked like he’d been run over by a car or a train. Blood and dirt smeared across his face, arms covered in bruises, his leg obviously injured if the limp he’s sporting is any indication. Tony doesn’t even want to think about what kind of injuries are hidden under the bright orange tricot.

“Peter, what’s going on?” Happy asks as they hurry down the stairs.

“Dad? Tony? Is that-Is that you?” Peter asks hesitantly, slowly coming closer to them.

“Yeah, of course. What –“

“Stop!” Peter suddenly yells, his voice an octave higher than usual. Both men stop dead in their tracks at once, not sure what to make of it. Now, Tony can see the blood-shot eyes. But even more worrying is the clear panic in Peter’s entire demeanor, his entire body shaking. “Tell me something only you would know! Both of you!”

“Buddy, what-“

“Do it!”

Happy and Tony exchange a quick look. Whatever this is, whatever has happened to their boy, it’s clearly worse than anything they had imagined. Tony’s blood begins to boil, angry at whoever is responsible for this, but he tells himself that this can wait until after they calmed Peter down.

“You had a ballet phase when you just moved to California,” Happy starts. “You didn’t want to take any classes, so I bought some DVDs. We pushed all the furniture in the living room against the walls to make more space for us. You were a lot more graceful than me.”

Tony knows about the ballet phase, but he hadn’t known Happy danced together with his son. For a second, he tries to imagine his friend dancing ballet, but his mind is blank, unable to come up with a fitting image.

However, Peter seems to accept his story, eyes wandering from his father to Tony. Oh, well, here goes nothing. “Once when I was looking after you when you were about seven, we went to a small bakery and you eat some pastry with peanuts in it.”

“What?” Happy yells, whirling around, leveling Tony with a heated glare. “He was severely allergic to peanuts!”

“I know that! And I didn’t do it on purpose, okay? I asked the girl on the counter if there were any nuts in it, and she said no. I don’t know if she forgot or didn’t know or-“

“Why is this the first time I’m hearing about it?”

“Because I know doctors who accept hush money, so can you please-“

They don’t get to continue their argument, because Peter stumbles forward and almost falls into Happy’s arms. “Dad,” he sobs, trying his best to not choke on his next breath.

“It’s okay, Peter,” Happy soothes him, holding Peter close. “It’s okay.”

“You’re real,” he says, and Tony doesn’t need to look into Happy’s face to know the man has the exact same thought he has right now. Someone somehow convinced Peter that what he’s seeing isn’t real. That his father and his not-uncle (who slowly starts to think of himself as not-father) are not really here, or just a trick to deceive him.

Tony’s blood starts to boil even hotter.

“I messed up _so_ bad,” Peter whispers.

“Hey, buddy, don’t worry. We will fix it,” Tony says, lying a hand on Peter’s shoulder and squeezing it. “Whatever it is, we’ll fix it, and-“

“No, you don’t understand.” Peter looks to Tony now, eyes full of hurt and regret and something like hopelessness. “I gave the glasses to the wrong person.”

They all but carry Peter back inside the jet to treat his wounds. The entire time, Peter rambles in an almost frantic matter, starting with the calls he’d been getting from Nick Fury he told nobody about, to the man suddenly appearing in his hotel room and SHIELD hijacking his trip to fight alongside Mysterio who turned out to be a big fraud – right after Peter gave him the glasses.

Tony had slipped the glasses into Peter’s luggage as a little surprise. This trip was supposed to be kind of a new beginning for Peter, and Tony wanted to show his support by giving them to him and a little, inspiring note. But Peter interpreted the gift differently.

“I gave them to the wrong person,” he repeats over and over again, as Happy tries to stitch up the wound on his back. His face is a stony mask, and Tony can’t even begin to imagine how angry he is.

“Peter, I didn’t give the glasses to you so you could give them to someone else,” Tony says as gently as he can, not wanting to upset him anymore by sounding condescending. He sits on the ground in front of Peter, ignoring the slightly painful aching in his knees, and holding his hands, trying to distract him from the pain of his treatment.

Tony’s fingers are itching to do something, maybe find that asshole Beck and punch all of his teeth out, or scream at Fury what the fuck he’s thinking to talk a teenager into this. By the way, how does someone as paranoid ad Nick Fury fall for a trick like this? Shouldn’t he know better? But Tony ignores all those urges inside him, knowing that there are more important things right now.

Calming down Peter.

Peter, who stares at him with wide, unbelieving eyes. “But you wrote for the next Tony Stark.”

“Buddy,” Tony breathes out, realizing where exactly the problem in their communication is. And it’s his fault. Of course, this is his fault! Did he really think only because he’s not stepping into the Iron Man suit anymore, he stops creating problems that only hurt his family? It’s one of the few recurrent themes in his entire life. “Okay, that’s on me. I should have phrased it differently. I never meant for you to find the next Tony Stark. Or even _be_ the next Tony Stark. Because the world doesn’t _need_ another Tony Stark. What it needs is the first and only Peter Hogan.” Peter stares at him, red eyes impossibly wide. With a small smile, Tony lays a hand against his cheek. “Those glasses are for you. Because I know you will use them right, and I know you will do great things.”

“I-I’m not that-“

“Yes, you are,” Happy speaks up for the first time since he started working on Peter’s wounds, voice firm with his decision. “You are what the world needs.”

“You’re my dad. You’re biased.”

“Maybe. But I also met a shitload of superheroes. And you? You’re already so much better than some of them even though you’re not even a legal adult yet. In a few years, you’re gonna run circles around them.”

“He’s already running circles around them,” Tony throws in with a smirk.

Peter is not convinced. “But I messed up!”

“Then we’re fixing it,” Tony says, voice full of determination, not leaving a fraction of an inch for doubt. “Together.”

The young superhero stares at him, not believing that it’s going to be as easy as the other men make it out to be. That’s fair. It never is as easy as it seems, but Peter looks like he really needs that boost of optimism right now. “Iron Man retired.”

“Well, yeah. But Tony Stark is still here. Beck has to work with a team, and to pull all of this off, they obviously have some base with all their tech. Who better to mess with it than me?”

Very slowly, Peter starts to warm up to the idea, his eyes flying from Tony to Happy and back. “My suit got destroyed.”

Happy snorts. “Luckily, this jet has some special features.” He presses a button and the wall that has been hiding the secret workshops lifts, revealing everything they need to make a new suit.

“What-… Why do you have this in your jet?”

“For emergencies like this, obviously,” Tony answers, getting back on his feet and pulling Peter up at the same time. “C’mon, I think it’s about time I show you how to make a suit on your own in a way that doesn’t require a sharpie.”

“You work on the suit, I’ll turn on the music,” Happy says. He squeezes Peter’s shoulder, presses a quick kiss against his cheek, and whispers something into his ear (Tony can’t quite understand it, but he thinks it’s something along the lines of _I love you and I’m proud of you_ ), before disappearing into the cockpit.

Just when Tony shows Peter all the design ideas for a Spider-Man suit, music starts to blare out of the speakers.

“Oh, I love Led Zeppelin!”

“Peter, you heathen!”

* * *

“- and that over there is the exact same bush Rhodey pushed me into to hide me from the angry frat boys.”

“You mean, the angry frat boys you provoked in the same way that makes some people want to rip your head off?”

“Exactly. Hey, who told you about that? Those words sound like-“

“Rhodey’s, yeah,” Peter laughs, and Tony doesn’t even pretend to be hurt and just joins him.

They’re on the MIT campus, sitting on a bench and enjoying the unusual sunny and warm day, waiting for Happy and Rhodey to return from their snack and coffee run. Happy and Peter had been planning a road trip to look at some college ever since Peter really started to think about colleges. However, when it became obvious that Peter is clearly looking for a school that’ll challenge his interest in science, Happy asked Tony to tag along, knowing the mechanic will know when a school is just overselling themselves. Once they made a plan to go to MIT, Rhodey all but invited himself, claiming that Tony on the MIT campus by himself is never a good idea.

It’s been a couple of months since the trip to Europe (“That’s it, Peter. You’re never ever going on another school trip again. I don’t care how much you’ll complain and beg, it’s not happening. No school trips anymore. _Ever_.” “Actually, Dad, that sounds kinda nice. I’m sick of them, anyway.”) and everything has finally calmed down. Peter took down Beck all by himself – both Happy and Tony simultaneously had a heart attack and had never been more proud of the boy – while Happy looked after Peter’s friends, and Tony hacked into their systems, destroying them from the inside, and deleting the video that would’ve painted Beck as the hero and Peter as the villain.

Peter also got to give MJ the now-broken necklace and confessed his feelings – which she reciprocates, to Peter’s shock. For everyone else, it wasn’t that much of a shock, but they don’t they that. Instead, the teasing starts. In a good-natured way, of course, the same way Tony would tease Peter and call him a nerd, or how Peter would Tony call old, or how Tony would use his new knowledge of Happy’s poor ballet skills. Happy, in return, would only name a date from his time as Tony’s bodyguard, and the billionaire shuts up, knowing those dates all represent very embarrassing stories. MJ fits seamlessly into that dynamic, making dry comments without moving a single muscle in her face that have Tony snorting through his nose.

And now, they’re sitting on a bench of MIT, watching the students walk by, who either buy Tony’s really bad disguise or simply don’t care that one of the most famous alumni of their school is sitting right there. “Are you excited?” Tony asks eventually into the comfortable silence between them.

“After seeing the labs? Definitely,” Peter answers with a wide smile that Tony copies. However, to Tony’s surprise, Peter sobers up. “I mean, I’m a bit nervous about it, though.”

“That’s normal, buddy. College is a big step. New people, new surroundings. But it’ll be fun.”

“I don’t mean that.” Peter lets his gaze travel over the campus once more before settling on Tony. “I’m nervous from being so far away from all of you guys.”

Tony hums, trying to not show how his heart breaks and melts at the same time. Peter has always loved being close to his family, they all know that. The boy gives away hugs and affection like free samples at the supermarket. A couple of weeks after being un-snapped, Peter confessed to Tony how difficult he finds it that Tony, Pepper, and Morgan don’t live in the city. Despite how much he loves the cabin by the lake – and Peter _really_ loves it – he hates that he can’t swing by anymore in a couple of minutes, hates that they don’t have almost-daily family dinners anymore. Back then, Tony almost straight up moved back into the city, if only to wipe that sad look off of Peter’s face.

And now Peter is about to move to Boston all on his own. Well, almost all on his own. Ned is hell-bent on going to MIT, too, and MJ will go to Harvard, so basically next door to him. But still. Tony understands what he means. In fact, Tony feels almost exactly the same way. He always liked having him around, and after those five years without him, sending him off to a college so far away seems like a horrible idea.

However, they can’t be the reason Peter doesn’t go to his dream college. Family is supposed to support you no matter what, not hold you back from your dreams.

“I know, kiddo,” Tony says softly, ruffling Peter’s curls once. “But you’re gonna have so much fun here. And, by the way, there’s this really neat invention called telephone. It lets you talk to anyone, no matter how far away they are. Some of them even can make a – are you ready for this? – video call. Groundbreaking.”

“You’re so dramatic,” Peter comments with a roll of his eyes, but the corners of his mouth point upwards.

“Yeah, well, you love it.” They both chuckle, before Tony continues his little speech. “But seriously. We’re not that far away, okay? You know your dad is getting you your own car, so you can come visit us as often as you like. And I still have my suit. I’ll be here faster than you can blink if you need me to.”

“Thanks, Tony,” Peter says, leaning his head against Tony’s shoulder just as Happy and Rhodey come back with the snacks and their drinks.

* * *

The somewhat mismatched symphony of excited yells, emotional sobs, and loud laughter, interrupted from the occasional _We’re finally free_ scream is not as annoying as Tony first thought it would be. But maybe that’s only because close to his entire focus is on Peter, dressed in his graduation robe, the hat already a bit tilted to the side, standing in front of the school statue. Morgan is in his arms, dressed in her favorite dinosaur-themed dress and the bright hair-clip she got from Peter only a few weeks ago. Pepper and May stand on both of his sides, smiling brightly at the camera Rhodey is holding, looking every bit like the proud godmothers they are, not caring about the few tear streaks marking their faces.

(Surprisingly, it had been Happy to remind them to wear waterproofed make-up for the ceremony, and they haven’t stopped thanking him for reminding them yet.)

Happy and Tony stand a bit to the side, watching the photoshoot blissfully.

“Remember the day you got the call from Mary?” Tony asks into the silence.

Happy snorts. “You seriously think I could ever forget that day? Not only did I found out I’m going to be a father, you insulted my driving skills, too.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Tony waves his good hand dismissively. “Back then, I asked you if it were bad news, and you couldn’t answer me.” Happy hums. “I just decided it was good news.”

“Best news I’ve ever gotten,” Happy agrees.

Tony kind of wants to make a sarcastic joke, something that would move him into the spotlight – but he doesn’t. It would be a lie, anyway. Never ever before had Tony been so glad that someone forgot protection during sex, because otherwise he wouldn’t have Peter as his not-son. He can’t imagine how his life would’ve been if Peter hadn’t been part of it, if his joyful laughter and shining eyes wouldn’t have brightened his gloomy days, if his trust in Tony wouldn’t have made Tony try to be the person Peter saw – and still sees – in him.

Tony sniffs once, eyes burning with tears.

“Hey!” Peter yells, waving both of them over. “We have to take more pictures!”

“Isn’t the memory card already full?” Happy asks, but nobody is fooled by his grumpy demeanor. They all know the man is more than willing to take more than a thousand pictures with his son.

“I brought a second one. C’mon, I want to have enough pictures to cover every inch of dorm room. Rhodey, you too! Ned said he’ll take a few pictures of all of us together.”

“Alright, but I should be in the middle,” Tony announces, already strutting in the middle of their little group, slinging his good arm around Peter’s shoulders and pressing him close to him as Morgan gets transferred into Pepper’s arms. “I’m the one only one of all of you who knows how to work the camera. I should be the focus point.”

There are loud protests mixed with happy laughter, but he doesn’t care if May will call him a drama queen for the rest of his life, because the joke coaxes a giggle out of Peter as he wraps one arm around Tony, fitting into his side like a perfect puzzle piece.

Tony nudges Peter’s hat back into its original position. “You happy, kid?”

Peter shows him his real, blinding smile. “Of course! I’m surrounded by my family, how can I not be happy?”

Tony’s heart melts for the fiftieth time this day as he squeezes Peter a little bit closer.

“Now, everyone say cheese!”, Ned orders them, camera in his hand.

They all smile brightly, pressed together as close as the can so everyone can fit into the picture, Peter and Tony both making bunny ears with their fingers behind the other’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter's real archnemesis are field trips, you can't change my mind. 
> 
> So, this chapter has a bit of a different vibe for me than the other one, and I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's because the scenes from IW, Endgame, and FFH are just sadder. Maybe because the time span of this chapter is shorter than the other one. Maybe because there's less development; both for Peter as he only ages a few years in this chapter and not 15 years as in the first one, and for Tony, who went from help-it's-a-small-human to I'll-punch-those-kids'-teeth-out in the first chapter, and it's kinda difficult to have the same kind of development in this chapter. 
> 
> It's safe to say that I'm a little bit (read: a lot) self-conscious about this chapter, and it almost stopped me from posting this. But there are actually a few scenes I really like in here and that I want to share with all of you, so... idk? I'm sorry if it didn't live up to your expectations.

**Author's Note:**

> “Behave.”  
> “Are you talking to me or the kid?”   
> “The one who needs to hear it.”
> 
> Those are my favourite lines from this fic because it applies to them at any time, not only when Peter is a little kid. 
> 
> I would absolutely love it if you leave my a comment and tell me what you think about this (because I need validation) or come talk to me over on [tumblr](https://jen27ny.tumblr.com/)!


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